Last Summer
by TheseusLives
Summary: This is Percy's and Annabeth's last summer as campers before they go off to college. One problem, as campers return for the summer, many never make it to camp. Sequel to Brothers United, Memories, Darkness Approaches and Queen's Revenge.
1. Graduation

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 1: Graduation

_**Author's Note: This story is set a year after the end of Queens Revenge.**_

Percy's POV

I just received my diploma from Goode High School, I'm now officially a high school graduate. It feels pretty good and I know some people believed I would never graduate, but my last two years in school were great. I finished this last year with all A's except for a B in English, my worst subject. I graduated the most improved student in my class, Paul and my mom were incredibly proud of me. Paul just finished taking my picture, I'm mean pictures. You would think that one picture would be enough, but Paul had to take my picture with every teacher and it seemed like every other graduate. Also, I thought one photo in front of school would be enough, but Paul wanted like fifty different angles. Suffice to say I was tired of cameras and posing by the time we were ready to leave. Annabeth couldn't make my graduation because she was graduating at the same time on the other side of the city. My mom and Annabeth's dad planned a combined graduation party for us at a nice private restaurant uptown, so we were now on our way there. My little sister Zoe was now two years old, she was in her car seat and I was playing with her. She's a beautiful little girl and my mom is definitely a doting mother. We reached the restaurant, I helped Zoe out of her car seat and carried her into the restaurant. I was still wearing my cap and gown. Annabeth ran up to me in her cap and gown as well.

"Seaweed brain, congratulations!" Annabeth said, as she kissed me on the cheek and proceeded to pull a happily squealing Zoe out of my arms.

"Congratulations, wise girl. Don't hug my little sister too tight." I said sarcastically.

"I can't help it, she's so cute." Annabeth said as she tickled Zoe's belly.

Paul and mom walked in behind us, Annabeth handed over Zoe to my mom and we proceeded into our private room in the restaurant. Mr. and Mrs. Chase were already seated with Annabeth's brothers Bobby and Matthew. We all greeted each other and sat down for our celebration. Then out of the blue three bright lights appeared. When the lights faded, standing before us were Poseidon, Athena and Theseus. It was always interesting having gods as close family members.

Annabeth and I ran up to them and hugged each one of them. Then the rest of the greetings commenced, except everybody was fascinated by Zoe, put a two year old in a room and she'll take all of the attention. Well, I couldn't blame them she was a pretty cute kid.

Paul stood up and grabbed a glass of wine and proposed a toast, "I would like to congratulate our favorite graduates Annabeth and Percy, we wish both of you the best in college, continue to make us proud." Everyone clapped and I stood up and cleared my throat.

"I have an announcement, that I've known about for a month now, but I was keeping it a secret until I had everyone here in one place. I know you've all been speculating where I was going to college. I know Annabeth knows where I applied, but I hold an acceptance letter from the school I've chosen to attend in my hand." I said, holding the letter up in the air. Everyone looked at me and yelled at the same time, "Come on, seaweed brain!"

I laughed out loud and said, "I'm going to the State University of New York Maritime School or SUNY Maritime, your looking at their newest student Cadet Jackson."

Everyone clapped and Annabeth stood up and kissed me on the cheek. I was feeling pretty good. Poseidon stood up and asked, "So Percy your going to the maritime college what is your major, son?"

I looked at my dad and smiled, "Well, I've applied for and have been accepted as a triple major in Oceanography, Marine Engineering and Annabeth's favorite Naval Architecture." I said.

Annabeth hugged me and said, "I knew you could do it seaweed brain!"

Everyone congratulated me and then Theseus stood up and everyone became silent.

"I want to congratulate both Annabeth and Percy. You have made all of us proud. I know you both will be going to camp tomorrow and it will be your last summer as campers, but I hope both of you will return as counselors next year. The place wouldn't be the same without both of you." Theseus said proudly.

Everyone clapped again. Annabeth stood up and gestured for everyone to listen, "I want to thank all of you for your support. I know I speak for Percy and I when we say that we love all of you very much. Our families have grown very close over the last several years and that has meant a lot to Percy and I, thank you all."

A few hours later everyone was still having fun and Annabeth walked out of the ladies room in a beautiful blue and silver sun dress, she was gorgeous.

"Aren't you going to change out of that cap and gown, seaweed brain" Annabeth said.

"Alright, close your eyes, I'll take it off." I said, after she closed her eyes, I unbuttoned the gown and took off the cap, I straightened out of my clothes I was wearing underneath and put on the hat that I had hid under my gown.

"You can open your eyes now, Wise Girl!" I said enthusiastically.

"What did you do …." Annabeth started to say until she stopped abruptly as realized what I was wearing. I was in my maritime school dress uniform it was a black blazer with gold cuffs and black dress pants. I had a white shirt underneath with a black tie and I wore my white cadet hat with black and gold trim. Annabeth just stared at me for a moment and then a huge smile grew across her face.

"You look incredible Percy!" Annabeth said, I knew it got to her because she called me Percy and not seaweed brain.

I reached down and cupped her face in my hands and kissed her softly.

"Thank you, my lady!" I said.

It took her a moment to open her eyes and I could see her sigh visibly.

"I'll have to get use to my handsome sailor." Annabeth said.

Theseus and Athena walked into the hallway and they both whistled at me when they saw me in my uniform.

"Looking good Percy!" Athena said with an amused grin on her face.

Theseus just looked at me and smiled, "I guess Annabeth's gonna have to watch the ladies when your wearing that getup." He said. Annabeth just looked at Theseus and then back at me. I saw her face turn red.

"Your right, you better tell any ladies that come up to you that your taken." Annabeth said incredulously.

I raised my hands in defeat and said, "Your the only woman for me, wise girl!"

"I hope you brought some extra clothes because I think I saw a waitress or two eyeing you brother." Theseus said sarcastically. I just looked at him and shook my head.

"Are trying to get me killed or what?" I said as I looked warily toward Annabeth who was glaring around the restaurant looking at anyone who she even suspected of glancing my way.

"He's only stating the obvious!" Athena said laughing out loud.

"I have a change of clothes in the car." I said, as I ran outside, I could hear Theseus and Athena laughing at me as I ran out the door. I grabbed the bag with my clothes and ran back inside to the bathroom. I changed my clothes into a pair of dress blue jeans, a sea green button down shirt and my white and blue converse. I came out of the bathroom and Annabeth was waiting for me by herself.

"That's better!" Annabeth said as she saw me.

"I hope so, I felt like a piece of meat waiting for the sharks to rip me to pieces, for a minute there." I said.

Annabeth just looked at me and laughed at that comment. "Well you look really good in that uniform, too good!" Annabeth said.

"Well, I'll make sure I save that for special occasions or when you and I are alone, how's that?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me." Annabeth said as she put her arms around my back and gave me a hug, then she looked up at me and kissed my neck. Electricity shot up my arm and I leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"Where's your mom and Theseus?" I asked.

"They left and so did your dad." Annabeth said.

Paul and my mom walked out carrying a sleeping Zoe. "Percy we need to go dear." My mom said.

I kissed Annabeth goodbye and we said our goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Chase and to Bobby and Matthew. We drove back home and I couldn't stop thinking about my last summer as a camper. I vowed to make sure that this summer was special, I just hoped it wouldn't be too special considering how my summers usually went. We made it home, I changed for bed and went to sleep early. Paul would be driving me to camp early in the morning. I dreamt of Annabeth and camp, but mostly Annabeth.

_**I know this is a quick introductory chapter. I hope you enjoy this story, which will be in Percy and Annabeth's POV, primarily. Also, based on your comments this story will center on Percy more than Theseus, so enjoy!**_


	2. Back at Camp

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 2: Back at Camp

Annabeth's POV

My dad dropped me off at camp early in the morning. I ran to the camp boundary and entered. I ran over the hill to see Thalia's tree, the golden fleece was back on top of the tree. I remembered the ceremony that Theseus held when we returned the fleece to camp. The fleece had been on Hero Island. That was the name we dubbed the island that we stayed on last year while camp was rebuilt. I saw the dragon resting near the tree I gave him a pat on the head as I walked by.

I looked around to check out the camp, the cabins were built in a similar fashion as before with the big three cabins lined up near the lake with Poseidon's cabin the closest to the water. They were designed exactly as they were before except they were a little bigger now. All of the other cabins were in a horseshoe facing the big three cabins. The cabins looked the same, except they were larger in size. The only difference I saw was that the Athena cabin was the closest of the cabins to the Poseidon cabin, a nod I knew to my mom and her husband Theseus.

In the middle of the courtyard that separated the big three cabins from the others was the new mess hall, it was twice as big as the previous one and was made in the shape of a large log cabin, it had a simplistic and rustic charm to it. Chiron really enjoyed how it looked and the large hearth in the middle of the building was very inviting.

On the other side of the cabins away from the lake was the training building. Instead of multiple facilities it was decided to build one large facility. Theseus asked me to design it anyway I wanted to. Therefore, as a nod to my stepfather, I had designed it to resemble in perfect detail the Temple of Theseus in Athens. However, it was twice the size and made of a beautiful marble that was brought in from Olympus itself. The inside was the real difference between the temple and the training facility. The training facility was a technical achievement and the campers that were here all year loved it. I didn't blame them, it was something to behold, it was full of technology. However, I knew Theseus like it because it was completely indoors and could be used as a multi-purpose facility. It gave him the perfect opportunity to interact with each camper.

Lastly, on top of the hill that overlooked camp was the new Big House and it lived up to the name. The new Big House was twice the size of the previous one. I had designed it to resemble a large Victorian Era mansion. It was painted gray, green and blue. It had two magnificent turrets and in my opinion was beautiful. Inside, it was the complete opposite of a Victorian house it was based on an open floor plan and felt incredibly spacious inside. All of the rooms were functional and it had a large commercial kitchen in the middle of the first floor. I know Mr. D enjoyed the kitchen, but he loved the huge wine cellar that was in the basement.

To the right of the Big House was a smaller building that looked like a complete replica of the Temple of Delphi. The temple was made of the same marble as the training facility. The only difference was that this temple wasn't a training facility, but was the residence of the oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Rachel and I were both eighteen now, we had become good friends after Percy and I became a couple. I found out last summer that Rachel always knew that Percy loved me and she never really wanted to be romantically linked with him. She had realized that the demigod life had fascinated her for some reason, so she stayed close to Percy until she found out that she was destined to be the new oracle. That made a lot of sense to me and I felt pretty silly for being so mean to her for those years during the war.

I continued to walk down the hill and headed toward the Athena cabin to see how many of my siblings were here. As I entered the new cabin, I was quickly impressed with how much bigger it was. The elder campers and camp counselors had their own private rooms and this would be my first year with one. I saw my name on one of the doors and entered. My room had storm gray walls with sea green trim along the top and bottom of the walls. A bed was against one wall with a desk and a drafting table on the other wall. I had a large closet and a reclining chair against the wall across from my bed. This room was bigger than my room at home and I absolutely loved it. I sat my bag on my bed and placed my laptop and Daedalus's laptop on the desk. I knew that if I came back as a counselor next year I definitely wanted to keep this room.

I walked out of my room and was suddenly hugged by someone. I didn't know who it was until they let go, it was Malcolm.

"Annabeth, isn't this place great?" Malcolm said happily. Malcolm looked good, he was taller than last year and I had to remind myself that he was still a year younger than me.

"Yes, it sure is, good to see you too!" I said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I was just so happy. Hello dear sister." Malcolm said trying to be formal.

"Don't be too serious little brother." I said with a faked look of warning.

Malcolm just stared at me scared and confused until I gave him a wicked smile.

"That's not funny, I thought you were serious." Malcolm said.

"So by your reaction I take it that you think camp is pretty great, huh." I said.

"It sure is you did a great job designing it." Malcolm said.

"Well, I designed it, but Aunt Hera and our cousin Ares did a great job seeing to the construction." I said. I know that sounds weird, but they did see to it that construction finished on time.

"Where are the rest of our campers?" I asked.

"Well, you are the only other Athena camper that I have seen since I got here." Malcolm said.

"Alright, well it's not that unusual camp doesn't officially start till next week anyway." I said. Still usually the Athena kids arrived early, I thought.

"Where would you like to go now?" Malcolm asked.

"Well, Percy should be here in a few minutes, let's walk to the top of the hill near Thalia's tree." I said anxiously.

"Sounds good, I know you've seen Percy this year. How's he doing?" Malcolm said as we walked out of our cabin and headed for the top of the hill.

"You're not going to believe this, but Percy was actually admitted to the SUNY Maritime College." I said, proudly.

Malcolm just looked at me and shook his head, "I guess he is pretty smart after all." Malcolm said.

"He is, but don't tell him that or his head will get huge." I said not able to hold in my laughter.

"What's so funny, brain!" Thalia said as she jumped out from behind her tree.

Malcolm and I jumped in the air scared speechless.

"Ha, scared you." Thalia added.

"Hey, that's not fair you're going to give us a heart attack." Malcolm said.

"Thalia!" I yelled as I gave her a big hug. Thalia looked good she had grown an inch since I last saw her. She was now a beautiful sixteen year old girl even though she still dressed all in black with black eye liner.

"What are you two up to?" Thalia asked.

"We're waiting for Percy to arrive." I said.

"Good, I'll wait with you." Thalia said.

"Where's Nico?" I asked.

"Don't get me started, his dad sent him on an errand to gods knows where. He better get back here soon or he'll be looking for a new girl friend." Thalia said with a fiendish look on her face.

"Now come on Thalia, you know you love him." I said.

"Well, maybe I do or maybe I don't." Thalia said.

"Yeah, right!" Malcolm added sarcastically.

"Careful brain boy or I'll forget that your sister is my best friend." Thalia said threateningly. All of the color drained out of Malcolm's face and he hid behind the tree. Thalia and I laughed hysterically.

"There he is!" Malcolm yelled.

Thalia and I looked down the hill. Percy was walking confidently up the hill carrying his duffel bag over his shoulder and a guitar case in the other. He was wearing a navy blue tee shirt that said Camp Half-Blood with faded blue jeans and black converse. I could see his arm muscles and chest muscles flex as he carried the bag and case. His hair was still jet black and as wild as usual. His sea green eyes were glowing as if the sun were shining behind them. He looked hot, I mean really good.

"Wow, Percy looks hot!" Thalia said.

"Hey, he's my boy friend!" I said angrily.

"Sorry, but he must have grown two inches over the year, how tall is he now?" Thalia asked.

"He's six foot four inches, thank you very much." I said proudly.

Percy made his way up to the tree and smiled broadly as he saw us. Thalia and I froze when he did that. I elbowed Thalia in the ribs and then ran to Percy. Percy dropped his bag and case as he saw me running toward him. I hugged him fiercely and then he leaned down and kissed me softly.

"I guess you missed me, wise girl." Percy said.

I helped Percy with his bag and case. We walked up to the tree arm in arm.

"Hi, Thalia, Hi, Malcolm." Percy said.

"Hey, Perc." Malcolm said.

"Hello, kelp face." Thalia said with a smirk.

"Hi, pine cone face." Percy said.

"What do you think of camp?" I asked.

"It looks incredible!" Percy said.

"I have to admit you did a great job, Annabeth." Thalia said.

"Thank you both." I said.

"I'm going to go to the mess hall, Malcolm do you want to come along?" Thalia asked, I guess she figured that Percy and I wanted to be alone.

"Sure!" Malcolm said, I guess Thalia isn't the only one who can take a hint.

They both ran down the hill leaving Percy and I alone by the pine tree.

"So do you want to walk with me to my cabin?" Percy asked.

"Alright." I said.

We walked down the hill toward the Poseidon cabin. As we reached the cabin Percy opened the door and the light immediately turned on. The Poseidon cabin was beautiful. The walls were a sea blue-green color that seemed to glow as if lit by sunlight. There were several large windows that faced the lake. I saw a name written on a door on the far wall, it said Percy. Percy walked over to it and opened the door. We both walked into his room. The walls were the same sea blue-green color with a wood trim along the bottom and top that reminded me of planks on a wood sailing ship. The floor was the color of corral. Percy had his bed on one wall. A chair and a stand for two guitars with a sheet music stand on another wall. On the far wall across from his bed were a desk and a drafting table. In between the two tables was a large window that overlooked the lake. A drafting table!

"Seaweed brain, why is there a drafting table in your room?" I asked curiously.

Percy just looked at me and smiled that smile that made me melt. "Well, I took a drafting class in high school and it turns out I'm pretty good. You never know when I might want to design a ship or a boat." Percy said proudly.

"You never told me you took a drafting class." I said.

"Well, I never told you I took guitar lessons either remember." Percy said.

"Your not keeping any other secrets from me are you." I asked warily.

"Secrets, I didn't know they were secrets. I promise I'm not keeping secrets. I just have a surprise up my sleeve now and then." Percy said as he smiled at me mischievously.

"Alright keep your little surprises then." I said, as I acted like I was hurt.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you're the only person I want to surprise. I love you wise girl." Percy said.

"I love you too! You're forgiven." I said, smiling as I laughed to myself. Percy really was one of a kind. I knew that I was very lucky to have him in my life.

Percy placed his duffel bag on his bed and leaned his guitar against his desk.

"Do you want me to show you around the camp? Things have changed a lot since the last time you visited." I said.

"Sure, that sounds great." Percy said.

We walked out of the Poseidon cabin holding hands. The first place we visited was the mess hall, I knew Percy would like it.

"Wow! The outside looks great, just like a huge log cabin. I bet Chiron loves this place." Percy said.

"He does, it's his favorite building in camp." I said proudly.

I opened the main doors to the mess hall and we walked in, the ceiling was about twenty feet from the floor to the rafters. A large hearth sat in the middle, Hestia would be proud of this one, I thought. A stage sat back on the far wall opposite the entrance and the campers tables sat around the hearth in the shape of a horseshoe. On each side of the stage were several serving stations for food, enough to feed all of the campers and then some.

"Annabeth this is amazing, you did an incredible job." Percy said with amazement in his voice.

"You think so, all of the buildings including this one are wired for WiFi and we have complete internal projectors and screens that slide down over the stage. This is a state of the art mess hall worthy of children of the gods." I said.

"Well, I think its terrific and so are you wise girl." Percy said as he gave me a hug.

"Get a room you two." Thalia said from the Zeus table.

"Lunch is not for three more hours, pine cone head." I said with a smile.

'Hey, what did you do with Malcolm?" Percy asked.

"Oh, He's over by the stage checking out the computer equipment and sound system." Thalia said.

Percy and I walked to the stage and sure enough Malcolm was sitting behind the stage curtain messing with the sound system and the electronic projector screen.

"You break it, you bought it!" I yelled to him. He about dropped the remote control when I said that.

"I almost did, you scared the Hades out of me." Malcolm said. Percy and I laughed at him.

"Where are the rest of the campers, we can't be the only ones here this early?" I said.

As if in answer to my question, a voice rang out from the mess hall entrance. "Well, I'm here wise girl." I turned around and there stood a smiling Clarisse LaRue.

"Clarisse, it's good to see you." I said excitedly.

"That's Counselor LaRue to you." Clarisse said with a stern look on her face and then when she couldn't control herself she began to laugh. A bit of warning, the laugh of an Ares kid is frightening.

"Very funny Clarisse. Congratulations on being a counselor this year." I said.

"Thank you, I'll tell you how it goes considering I'm sure you and Percy will be in the same boat next year." Clarisse said as she walked over and playfully punched Thalia in the arm.

"Hey, watch it Clarisse." Thalia said.

"I'm just messing with you Gracie." Clarisse said.

"Hey, don't call me Gracie." Thalia warned.

Percy and I had made our way to the door before a full battle commenced in the mess hall. Malcolm had already snuck out the back door to the Mess Hall. Percy and I quietly opened the door and proceeded to run to the training building. We stopped to catch our breath in front of the entrance.

"Annabeth this looks exactly like the Temple of Theseus in Athens. I can't believe you got it this perfect. I know Theseus loves it." Percy said.

"Thank you, your brother does love it, but not just for the outside. Go inside and you'll see." I said happily.

We walked into the building and we entered a long hallway that was ten feet wide by at least 1,000 feet long. At the end of the hallway was a floor to ceiling window and the ceiling was a full skylight. Along the walls were four doors, two on each side, evenly spaced. Percy and I walked to the first door on the right and opened it we walked in immediately.

"This is the new sword and hand to hand combat arena." Percy said excitedly.

"It sure is." I said happily.

"It's incredible, those exercise dummies are incredible, what are they?" Percy said.

"There animatronic, they are made of celestial bronze so they are almost indestructible and they have sensors that acknowledge attacks and keep score, cool huh?" I said.

"It's incredible, I love it." Percy said.

"I knew you would." I said as I gave Percy a big hug.

"So, what's in the other three rooms?" Percy said.

"Well, the one across the hall is the archery wing, the next one on the right is the obstacle course and the last wing is the full work out room that includes a weight room, aerobics studio, concentration and meditation area, and lastly a relaxation area with spa , showers and locker room." I said.

"This is absolutely the greatest thing you ever designed." Percy said as he gave me a big kiss that left me speechless, well almost.

"A .. your welcome." I said trying to regain my composure.

Percy was clearly in his element as he walked around and practiced with one of the animatronic dummies.

"Percy, do you want to go see the new Big House?" I said, as I got tired of him winning against the dummy. I had set that one earlier in the day to expert and Percy already beat it five times in a row. I forgot how incredible Percy had become as a swordsman.

"Sure wise girl, let's pay a visit to Chiron and Mr. D." Percy said as he put the training sword away.

We walked hand in hand from the training building to the Big House. Now this was my favorite building, it was beautiful. Percy stopped as we stood at the bottom of the steps to the house.

"Annabeth, this has to be the second greatest thing you ever designed." Percy said amazed.

"Thank you, this is my favorite of all." I said proudly.

We walked in through the front door; the inside of the house was amazing. I had made sure that the decorations were all very modern in the living room and entertainment area. We walked into the kitchen, which had black granite countertops, dark gray cabinets, and a dark cherry wood floor. All of the appliances were stainless steel and shined in the sunlight that came through the large bay windows and French doors. A large table was on one side of the kitchen and sitting at the table playing pinochle were Chiron and Mr. D.

"Percy, Annabeth, good to see both of you." Mr. D said, clearly his going home to his wife after the summer was still agreeing with him. He was as happy as a lark.

"Good to see you too, sir." I said.

"You two look great, so good to have you both back this summer." Chiron said as he gave both of us a big hug.

"Thanks, Chiron." Percy and I said at the same time.

"Do you know how many campers have arrived so far?" I asked.

"Well not many. We have a counter in the security barrier that keeps a log on how many campers pass through. So far the system showed twenty campers." Chiron said as he looked at a computer readout sitting on the kitchen table.

"That seems pretty low even for this early in the summer, don't you think?" I said.

"Your right, we usually have three times that many by now at least." Chiron said.

"Maybe the campers are coming later because we do have a higher average age this year than years past." Mr. D said, I didn't even know he kept track of those sort of things.

"You might be correct, it is early. Officially the arrival date is not until next week." Chiron said.

"Let's wait for a few more days before we worry too much. We haven't heard of any monster attacks lately anyways." Mr. D said.

"The lunch bell should ring in a few minutes, you two should get to the mess hall. We'll see you there in a few minutes." Chiron said.

Percy and I said our good-byes and walked to the mess hall.

"You think something bad is going on don't you?" Percy asked.

"It might be nothing, but yeah this few campers doesn't make sense with the year-round campers we probably have one hundred campers total now. As Chiron said we should be between two hundred and three hundred camper by now." I said as I tried to analyze the situation.

"Well I hope nothing is wrong, but until the official camp date we can't jump to conclusions, but we should at least talk to Theseus. Hopefully, he'll show up soon, maybe we will see him at lunch, come on." Percy said as we walked to the mess hall.

I had a bad feeling and more importantly my mind was telling me that something wasn't right. Something was happening to campers, something very wrong.

_**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There was a lot to cover I hope I was detailed enough for you on the new camp design.**_


	3. Wait and See

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 3: Wait and See

**Percy's POV**

I was so happy to be back at camp. The new camp was incredible, but Annabeth had me worried. She's right, there were so few campers here even this early in the summer. Annabeth thinks something bad is happening. I hope she's wrong, but that hardly ever happens. We'll just have to wait and see. Annabeth and I walked hand in hand to the mess hall. We walked inside, I sat at the new Poseidon table and Annabeth over at the new Athena table. Our tables were right next to each other, so that was a lot better than the old mess hall. I still couldn't believe how big this place was. The campers started to trickle in, I could see Annabeth counting them as they walked in. I hope there weren't any new campers because I know Annabeth would make them nervous counting them as they entered. I didn't have to count to know that there were a lot less campers than usual for this time of the season. I hoped more would come in the next few days, but I was starting to get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me something was wrong.

Chiron and Mr. D. walked into the mess hall and sat at the lead table. The lead table was located in the center of the horseshoe of tables. Chiron stood and walked to the front of the tables near the hearth.

"Campers, I know it is early in the season, but I welcome you to Camp Half-Blood. Cabin leaders remember to bring any new campers to the big house for registration as they arrive. Please enjoy yourselves and if you have any questions regarding the new facilities you can speak to me, Mr. D. or Annabeth Chase, cabin leader for the Athena cabin." Chiron said as he gestured to Mr. D and then to Annabeth.

All the campers walked to the buffet line to get they're lunch. I marveled at the spread, even the food at the new camp was incredible. I tossed some food into the hearth and prayed to Poseidon, Theseus and Athena. I even tossed a prayer in to Uncle Zeus and Uncle Hades as well. I sat down and ate my lunch, again the food was great.

After lunch Annabeth and Thalia walked over and sat down next to me at my table.

"Enjoy the food, seaweed brain." Annabeth said sarcastically.

"How many plates did you have?" Thalia asked.

"Three!" I said enthusiastically.

"Your gonna get fat Percy!" Annabeth said not even trying to laugh.

"No I'm not, I didn't have breakfast today and don't worry I'll work it off." I said.

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Well that's a surprise, excuse me I have to go to my cabin." I said.

"You don't want to stay and talk with us?" Annabeth said with her best puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry, I need to unpack and then I want to IM Theseus to see if he's heard from Grover." I said, trying to make up some excuse to leave.

"Alright, I need to unpack anyway. Thalia, you can help me." Annabeth said as she grabbed Thalia by the arm and dragged her out of the mess hall.

When I walked out of the mess hall, I saw Thalia and Annabeth head to the Athena cabin and close the door behind them. I knew my excuse wasn't sufficient, so I wasn't surprised when I saw Annabeth and Thalia peaking out of the cabin window at me. I acted like I didn't see them and just walked to my cabin and entered, but I made sure to lock the door. I knew Annabeth and Thalia would be sneaking around outside to see what I was doing. I walked to the large fountain in the center of the cabin and threw in a drachma.

"Goddess please show me Theseus, god of heroes." I said.

The mist cleared into an image of Olympus, Theseus was clearly in the garden with Athena.

"Hello!" I said.

"Percy, good to see you, brother." Theseus said.

"Percy, how are things at camp?" Athena asked.

"Annabeth's fine, but we are both worried about the number of campers here so far." I said.

"I know I've already talked to Chiron. We just need to wait and see how many more show up, but I agree we are well below the normal count for this time of year." Theseus said.

"How are the surprises coming?" Athena asked with a smile on her face.

"Well, better if I didn't have to worry about Annabeth sneaking around trying to find out what I'm doing. She saw the drafting table in my room and she made a big deal of me keeping secrets." I said frustratedly.

"Well she is my daughter so she's going to be curious, I have faith in you. You'll make sure the surprise stays a secret." Athena said.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. I can't wait until Nico gets here." I said.

"Why is that?" Athena asked.

"Well Annabeth has Thalia helping her and it is a lot more difficult to keep a secret when there are two spies around." I said.

"I see, we'll try to do something about that." Athena said.

"I'll talk to Hades to see if he can bring Nico back to camp." Theseus said.

"Thank you." I said.

"Alright so how are the designs coming?" Theseus asked getting down to business.

"Well, I have all the ideas, are you sure you want three?" I asked.

"Yes, three is what we need." Theseus said.

"Have the facilities been constructed?" I asked.

"Yes, I just finished talking to Ares, both facilities were completed yesterday." Athena said.

"Good, Theseus have you heard from dad, is he going to have the materials we need to begin construction?" I asked.

"When you're ready all you need to do is have Hermes deliver a message and the materials will be there." Theseus said.

"One last thing, have you heard from Grover lately?" I asked.

"Yes, I sent him on a mission to bring back a young demigod from upstate New York two days ago. I haven't heard from him yet, but that's not unusual. I'll let you know tomorrow. I should be in camp by lunch. Take care Percy."

"Both of you take care as well, good-bye." I said as I waved my hand through the mist and broke the connection.

I looked up toward the window facing the sea and I saw the shrub near the window move. I knew immediately that it was Annabeth. She must have on her invisibility cap. I acted like I hadn't seen anything and walked into my room and closed the door. I pulled closed the curtain in front of my bedroom window and unpacked. When I finished unpacking I began to work on the three surprises that Theseus had discussed in our IM message. I knew that Annabeth had probably given up by now because it had been at least three hours since I began working. I heard the dinner bell ring. Theseus had installed a safe in my room, it was in a secret compartment in the wall behind my desk. He told me that I would need something like this to ensure that I could surprise Annabeth. He said that I should know by now how hard it was to keep a surprise from a daughter of Athena. He was right, when they said curiosity could kill the cat I think they meant Annabeth. I put the materials that I was working on in the safe and locked it. I walked out of my room and out of the cabin. I headed for the mess hall. I didn't see Annabeth and Thalia any where. I bet Annabeth is sneaking in my room, right about now, I thought as soon as I walked into the mess hall. I saw Thalia staring at me curiously from the Zeus table and I didn't see Annabeth at the Athena table.

I walked to the buffet line and filled my plate with food and then scraped my offering into the hearth and prayed to the gods. I walked to my table and then I saw a familiar face, my little brother Tyson. Well, he's not little actually he's a twelve foot tall Cyclops.

"Percy, how are you big brother?" Tyson asked.

"I'm doing well. You're looking great. Are all of your wounds healed now?" I asked.

"Yes, but …" Tyson said quietly.

I forgot Tyson was still very upset because most of his Cyclops army was killed in the war last summer.

"I'm sorry Tyson did dad tell you about the surprise I'm working on?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, I know it's a big secret, I promise not to tell." Tyson said as he crossed his chest in the form of a X.

"Good, Annabeth is really trying to discover the surprise and we wouldn't want that to happen would we?" I asked.

Tyson looked at me with large eyes and shook his head. "I promise on the Styx not to tell her." Tyson said.

"You're a good little brother. How long are you staying?" I asked.

"Not long, actually I just wanted to eat dinner with you and then I have to go back to Atlantis. Can I come back when the surprise is under construction?" Tyson asked.

"You sure can, I'll need your help." I said happily.

"Good, I'll bring Triton if I can." Tyson said as he stood up gave me a hug that almost crushed the life out me and then walked out of the mess hall.

Five minutes after Tyson left the door opened up and in came a very frustrated looking Annabeth. She walked over to the buffet line and filled her plate. After making her offering she walked to the Athena table. I saw her look over at Thalia and shake her head. I noticed Thalia lower her eyes in defeat. Yeah, she had been in my room alright and she didn't find anything. A big smile spread across my face as I put my plate away and walked out the door. I didn't say a word to Annabeth or Thalia. It served them right for spying on me. I walked to the training facility. I entered the sword training area and began training with one of the new sword dummies. I set the difficulty level to expert. The dummy nearly took off my head with its first swipe. This thing is serious I thought. I concentrated fully as Theseus had trained me and surged into battle. After about five minutes the dummy was sprawled out on the floor. With half of its sensors flashing red, meaning that I whipped its mechanical butt. I put my sword away and left the training area.

I exited the training facility and ran straight to my cabin. I ran straight passed Annabeth and Thalia as they exited the mess hall. They probably thought that I didn't see them. I did, but I needed to get the first part of my work on the surprise completed before Annabeth figured out what I was doing and ruined the surprise for the whole camp. She could be such as wise girl sometimes, I thought.

**Annabeth's POV**

As Thalia and I exited the mess hall I saw Percy run towards his cabin at full speed. Either he didn't see us or he was avoiding us. He didn't even say a word to me after he finished dinner, he just ran out of the mess hall. He was up to something, I just knew it.

"Annabeth, did you see Percy run straight passed us?" Thalia asked.

"I did, I think he's avoiding us." I said.

"What do you think he's up to?" Thalia asked.

"No good probably, he's acting like the Stoll brothers." I said.

"I can't believe the seaweed brain is making a plan." Thalia said incredulously.

"Thalia, he has grown up a lot, especially since Theseus arrived. He graduated high school the most improved in his class and I didn't tell you this, but he's starting college in September." I said.

"Where is he going?" Thalia asked surprised.

"The SUNY Maritime College, it's in New York City." I said.

"Wow, then maybe he is smart enough to devise a plan, but he's definitely not smarter than you." Thailia said proudly.

"Problem is, he doesn't have to be smarter, he just has to be good with keeping a secret and I hate to admit it, but Percy is pretty good at keeping a secret." I said.

"He's been keeping secrets from you, that's not a very good boyfriend." Thalia said.

"I mockingly told him that I was hurt by his secrets, but so far they only dealt with things that he calls surprises." I said.

"Like what?" Thalia asked.

"Like learning to play the guitar and yesterday I found out that he took a class on drafting." I said.

"Some secrets! I guess to the brain those would be significant." Thalia said mockingly.

"Well at least my boyfriends not always running off to who knows where for his daddy." I said sarcastically.

Thalia just looked at me angrily, then her expression cleared and she said, "Why are we arguing, we need to find out what Percy's hiding, right?"

"Your right, well we can keep spying on his cabin in case he makes a mistake, it is seaweed brain after all, no matter how much he's grown up he can always make a mistake." I said.

"We can try that, but maybe there's another way." Thalia said mischievously.

"What other way?" I asked.

"How about seduction?" Thalia said.

"What? You want me to seduce him?" I asked with a shocked look on my face.

"Now I don't mean lose your virginity over it, but you can always get a guy to tell you something if you just use the idea of sex to persuade him." Thalia said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Well, I watch television." Thalia said.

"Too much I think." I said sarcastically.

"So you're not going to try it?" Thalia asked.

"Let's leave that as a last resort." I said.

Thalia and I walked to Percy's cabin and tried the door, of course it was locked. Percy never locked his cabin door, so he was definitely up to something. We walked around and looked in the bay windows of the cabin that faced the lake. No sign of Percy, he had to be in his bedroom. We walked to his bedroom window and of course he had the curtains pulled. Thalia and I both tried to look inside through any cracks or openings in the curtain. All we could see was someone moving behind the curtain and of course it had to be Percy.

"Well this is hopeless, we can't see anything." Thalia said.

"I can't hear anything these cabins were designed to be soundproof." I said.

Thalia and I waited by the lake and watched Percy's window for at least three hours. It was starting to get dark, so we were getting ready to call it a night until we saw Percy's bedroom light go off. We thought maybe he had gone to sleep, but instead we heard the door to his cabin open. Percy came around the corner of his cabin, Thalia and I were hiding behind a large rock lying on the ground. When Percy came into view he was wearing swim trunks that were lime green in color with a navy blue stripe down the side. He wasn't wearing a shirt but had a blue towel rapped around his shoulders. I froze when I saw his upper body his shoulders were broad and muscular and he had six pack abs to die for. His arms were muscular, but not overly so, it had been a year since I had last seen Percy with his shirt off and he had only gotten better looking, thats for sure. I heard Thalia humming to herself and I realized she was in a daze looking at Percy's body.

"Thalia, snap out of it, Percy's my boyfriend, you've got your own." I whispered loudly so Percy didn't hear me. Thalia snapped out of her daze and her cheeks blushed fiercely.

"Sorry, but I never knew Percy had a body like that." Thalia said.

"It's called a swimmer's body and that's what he's getting ready to do swim." I said sarcastically.

We watched as Percy laid his towel on the beach near the lake and then I saw him walk down to the brand new dock. I hadn't noticed that there before. This dock was at least twice as big as our old one. It had several moorings along it's sides to allow boats to tie up. Percy walked to the end of the dock and jumped head first into the lake. He didn't come up for air because he didn't need to. He just swam around the lake underwater.

"Thalia, nows our chance, let's see if Percy left any clues in his cabin." I said.

Thalia and I stood up and ran to the Poseidon cabin's door and it was unlocked, so far so good. We walked to Percy's door and found his door unlocked as well. We walked in and looked around, then I saw a letter near a Hermes delivery package. The message was from Percy to Poseidon. I read it out loud.

_Dear Dad,_

_ I hope this letter finds you well and I hope Hermes got this to you quickly. Your going to love them when you see them. The tall one, she's the best and I lover her. I know you will too when you see her Please send the package as soon as possible. I'll make sure that everything is completed on time. Athena and Theseus know what's going on and they are happy for me. It was hard to do, but I couldn't pass this opportunity up. Thank you for helping me, this will certainly change my life._

_Love your son,_

_Percy_

"Who is the tall one, is it a girl?" Thalia said, not believing what she read.

"Percy is in love with a girl that Poseidon hasn't met yet." Thalia continued. I just looked at her, that can't be right Percy loves me, we have to be missing something.

"What did he mean by them and then he said the tall one? Are there several new girls coming to camp?" I said completely stunned.

"I know and then he said that Theseus and Athena know what's going on." Thalia said.

"And they are happy for him!" I added.

"He said it was hard to do, what did he mean, cheat on you?" Thalia said.

"Then he said that he couldn't pass up this opportunity, what his opportunity to dump me?" I said.

"What about the last part when he says this will definitely change his life." Thalia said.

"Oh, his life will be changed, if he still has one after I'm done with him." I said, I was mad now, was Percy really cheating on me with some new camper that would arrive with others, probably her sisters, I thought.

"What about the package that Poseidon's going to send him and what about when he said we will be ready on time?" Thalia said.

"I don't know, but we're going to watch Mr. Secrets and if he is cheating on me, he's dead." I said menacingly. Thalia just looked at me and nodded.

"I'm with you." Thalia said.

We put everything back where we found them and left the Poseidon cabin. Thalia went back to her cabin and I went to mine. That night I had the worst dream about Percy dumping me for some tall unknown girl. I woke up and cried myself to sleep. What am I going to do without Percy? That's all I could think about.

_**I hope you liked this chapter, a little drama never hurts, well maybe just a little.**_


	4. Heartache

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 4: Heartache

**Percy's POV**

I awoke the next morning and found a letter from my dad newly delivered on my desk. It was good of Hermes to let me sleep. I was up late finishing my plans and I went for a swim then mailed the letter to my dad. I opened the letter from my dad and read it.

Dear Percy,

I'm so glad that you have completed your plans. All of the details have been completed. You will find the construction equipment as well as Atlantean craftsman at the two dedicated sites, plus a little surprise to help winter the ladies.

Love

Poseidon

Dad came through again. I grabbed my plans out of the safe and got dressed. I didn't have time to go to breakfast as I needed to get the construction under way. I ran to the other side of camp, behind the big house. You see behind the big house and down the hill was the beach and beyond that the ocean. It was still very early in the morning and that was good as I avoided the prying eyes of Annabeth. As I went down the hill on the other side of the big house I saw the sea and my heart skipped a beat. The water was beautiful today, with its greens and blues. The sun shined brightly on the surface and made the golden sand of the beach shine beautifully. Once down by the beach I saw the newly constructed pier with small boat marina. Sitting next to the pier was a huge boat house, it was most definitely large enough to handle the construction, but it would be a perfect place to winter the ships.

I ran to the boat house and opened the door. Standing in front of me was my brother Triton with twenty Atlantean ship craftsman. All the materials they needed were laid out behind them.

"Percy, how are you brother?" Triton asked.

"I'm doing great, now that you all are here." I said.

"Let's see your plans." Triton said.

I unrolled my plans and handed them to him. Triton looked at the two sets of plans carefully and smiled.

"Percy these are beautiful, the whole camps going to love them." Triton said.

"How long will it take to construct them?" I asked.

"Not long, we have the best ship builders in all of history. They'll have both ships built by tomorrow." Triton said proudly.

"That's incredible." I said.

"Percy you better take this last plan to the lake, you need to meet Tyson there." Triton said.

"I understand, thank you brother." I said as I ran out the door. I could hear Triton barking orders to the craftsman, "You heard both of these ships need to be built by tomorrow morning."

I ran back through camp and passed the Athena cabin as I made my way to the lake, I didn't even notice Annabeth sitting in the window staring gravely at me as I ran to the lake. As I approached the lake I saw a newly constructed boat house there. I ran to the boat house and knocked.

"Whose there, identify yourself." I heard Tyson say.

"Ty, its me your big brother." I said. The door opened and I walked inside, immediately the door closed behind me. I gave the plans to Tyson and his craftsman. I decided I would stay and help as this boat was my favorite design, for good reason that is.

**Annabeth's POV**

I hardly slept last night. I prayed to my mom and Poseidon that Percy wasn't cheating on me. Then I saw Percy run passed my cabin and he didn't even act like he noticed me looking out the window. I saw Thalia walk up to my cabin a few minutes later so I walked outside. I knew I had already missed breakfast, I wasn't hungry.

"I missed you at breakfast, wise girl." Thalia said trying to sound upbeat.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"You look like Tartarus, do you know that?" Thalia asked.

"I know, I didn't sleep much last night." I said.

"Worried about Percy?" Thalia asked.

"Why are you worried about Percy?" A familiar voice said.

Thalia and I turned around to see Nico Di Angelo step out of the shadows, looking a little older and a little taller, but he was still the black haired, olive skinned boy I knew and that Thalia loved.

Thalia hugged him fiercely and then kissed him hungrily. When she finally broke away from him for air. Nico was stuck with a stunned and happy face. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the Athena cabin with Thalia right behind me.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" Thalia asked.

"We're going to get some information from this friend of Percy." I said fiendishly.

I could see the scared look on Nico's face as he heard me say that.

"What what do you mean information?" Nico said nervously.

"Is Percy seeing another woman?" Thalia asked.

"What? Percy would never cheat on Annabeth." Nico said confidently.

I then proceeded to tell the son of Hades what Thalia and I had learned last night from the letter Percy was writing to his father.

"Why don't you IM your mom, Annabeth? You said that the letter mentioned that she and Theseus knew about it. Ask her if its true." Nico said.

"I can't do that, I'm not even sure if she knows everything and I don't want her to think that I would spy on my boyfriend, she would think I was some kind of a stalker." Annabeth said.

"But you did spy on Percy." Nico said.

"So, I needed to know what he was up to." I said.

"I don't understand women." Nico said.

"You don't have to understand us, you just need to do what we say, got it." I said threateningly.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" Nico said with his hands raised in defeat.

"We want you to talk to Percy and find out what he's up to, got it." Annabeth said.

"Alright, alright, but I can tell you he's not a cheater." Nico said. Then he walked toward the Poseidon cabin and knocked on the door. When no one answered he just shook his head and walked to the lake.

**Percy's POV**

We had been working on the boat for three hours and it was already coming along nicely. Then I heard a knock on the boat house door.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"Its me Nico, can I come in?" Nico said.

"No, I'll come out." I said, as I opened the door just enough to squeeze out without allowing anyone to see in.

"Hey, Nico what's up?" I asked.

"I could ask the same thing of you, when did camp get a boat house and what are you doing in it?" Nico asked.

"Well, it happens to be a project that I'm working on for Theseus and Poseidon. Its top secret." I said.

"Well did you tell Annabeth about it?" Nico asked.

"No, its going to be a surprise." I said.

"Well, she read some letter that you sent your dad and she thinks your cheating on her." Nico said.

"What? Thats crazy, when did she see that letter, I sent it through Hermes like two in the morning. Ah, crap she must have snuck in and read it when I went swimming last night." I said.

"Well, she's not convinced your cheating, but I have a feeling that Thalia has added to the whole paranoia. She has a real problem with jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry for that Percy." Nico said.

"Its not your fault, Annabeth should trust me more. Her curiosity is going to get her in trouble." I said.

"Well, what should I tell her, if I come back with no information she's going to kick my butt?" Nico said.

"Well, just tell her that you found me by the lake and that I wouldn't tell you what was going on at all. Its not that far from the truth." I said.

"Shouldn't I tell her that you're not cheating?" Nico asked.

"No, she needs to learn a lesson here, I think its high time the wise girl learned that curiosity is not always a good thing and that she needs to trust her boyfriend more." I said.

"Your sure about this?" Nico asked.

"Yes, now get outta here." I said. Nico ran away shaking his head. I went back into the boat house. I felt mad and hurt that Annabeth would even think I would cheat on her. I tried to clear those emotions away and concentrated on the construction project that was in front of me.

**Annabeth's POV**

Thalia and I sat in my cabin waiting for Nico to return, it seemed like forever until we heard him run up and open the cabin door. He walked in out of breath, we waited for him to catch his breath.

"Did you find him?" I asked.

"Yes, he was down by the lake." Nico said.

"What was he doing?" Thalia asked.

"No idea, he wouldn't tell me." Nico said.

"Did he say anything else?" I asked.

"No, not really he just told me to leave him alone, thats all." Nico said.

"See I told you he was acting strange, somethings going on." I said.

"Did you see anyone with him?" Thalia asked.

"No, I think he was by himself." Nico said.

"What do you mean, you think he was by himself?" I asked.

"Well, there is this boat house, I guess its new, he was inside it when I arrived at the lake." Nico said.

"So there could have been someone inside the boat house with him?" I asked.

"I guess there could be, but I didn't here anyone." Nico said.

"When did that boat house get built?" Thalia asked.

"That might be the special item that Percy talked about in his letter to Poseidon." I said.

"I guess thats possible." Thalia said.

The lunch bell rang, Thalia, Nico and I left my cabin and walked to the mess hall. We each sat at our assigned tables. Before anyone could eat a golden light appeared in front of the hearth and once it dissolved standing before us was Theseus, god of heroes, my stepfather.

"Welcome camper, I know that it is still early in the summer, but I want to thank those of you who have come back to camp early. Your dedication is inspiring. Now there are a lot of incredible things to do this summer and most of all I hope everyone is enjoying our new camp facilities. I would like to thank Annabeth Chase of the Athena cabin for designing incredible buildings and facilities. Lastly, I will remind everyone that as heroes we must remain vigilant in our duty to ourselves and to our fellow campers. Thank you and enjoy your lunch." Theseus said as he stepped forward and sat down between Malcolm and I. He gave both of us a big hug.

"I'm so glad to see both of you. You look great." Theseus said.

"Thank you, Theseus." Malcolm and I said at the same time.

"Theseus can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure my dear." Theseus said.

"Do you know what Percy's up to?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Theseus said hesitantly.

"He has been avoiding me for the last day and a half. I think he's up to something." I said.

"I'm sure he's fine, maybe he's just working on a project for his new school. He did mention something to me about some materials they sent him to go over." Theseus said.

I could tell Theseus knew more than he was telling, but I didn't press, you don't want to piss off a god, especially not the god of heroes.

"Well, I hope everything is alright." I said.

'I'm sure it is, now if you'll excuse me I need to sit over with Chiron and Mr. D. Both of you take care." Theseus said as he left our table and went over to sit down next to Chiron.

I barely ate my lunch as my mind was still racing with questions and thoughts about what Percy was up to. After lunch, I left the mess hall and I ran down to the lake. I wanted to see this boat house that Nico talked about. As I reached the lake I saw the new boat dock and sitting next to it on the edge of the lake was the boat house, it was huge compared to the dock. I couldn't believe it could just appear over night, it had to be the work of Poseidon. I though about knocking on the door at first, but then I had second thoughts, so I just sat down on the edge of the dock and kept an eye on the entrance to the boat house. After about an hour the door slowly opened and I saw Percy walk out, he was sweaty and covered in dust. He slowly closed the door and I swear I could here people working inside the boat house on something.

"Hey seaweed brain." I said, I thought Percy was going to jump out of his skin, I guess I surprised him, I laughed to myself, it served him right.

"Hey wise girl, have you been there very long?" Percy asked.

"Oh, about an hour." I said.

"Sorry, I missed breakfast and lunch, I lost track of time." Percy said, I bet he had, I thought.

"Perseus, are you going to tell me what you've been up to?" I asked, yes I used his full name for emphasis.

"Annabeth, all I can say is that I have a special project I'm working on for Poseidon and Theseus." Percy said evenly.

"So its a secret." I said accusingly.

"Yes, it is, they have asked me not to tell anyone the details, its a surprise for the camp." I said.

"Oh, so now its for the camp, its not for you?" I asked.

"What do you mean for me?" Percy asked.

"Come on, Percy I know about the special project, the tall girl, how she will change your life, I even know that my mom and Theseus approve of this project." I said, emphasizing the word project.

"So you have been spying on me, I guess Thalia's been helping as well? Percy asked, damn he's gotten too perceptive.

"Well, she's my friend and she doesn't think a good boyfriend should keep secrets." I said accusingly.

"I told you this is a secret project for my dad and brother, they asked me to take care of it and I'm proud that they trusted me to do it." Percy said defensively, I guess I hit a nerve.

"So I guess this secret project is more important to you than I am?" I asked.

"No its not, but they didn't want me to tell any campers because they didn't want the surprise to be ruined, thats all, please don't make a big deal about this." Percy said pleadingly.

"Me make a big deal about this, whose this tall girl that I read in your letter to your dad." I asked.

"You read the letter to my dad, that was private, why would you do that?" Percy asked.

"Well, I needed to see what you were up to." I said.

"Why can't you trust me?" Percy asked, I could hear anger starting to build in his voice.

"Don't bring this back on me, your the one that's keeping secrets, your the one thats lied." I said.

"I didn't lie to you, I avoided you so I wouldn't have to lie. I knew you would be too curious about what I was doing, but I never thought you would invade my privacy to quench your curiosity." Percy said, he sounded more hurt than sad now.

"Just tell me who the tall girl is Percy! Is that so tough!" I yelled.

Percy just looked at me like I was crazy.

"What's gotten in to you? Why are you acting this way?" Percy asked defensively.

"Why are you being so defensive?" I said.

"Annabeth Chase, what are you doing?" A voice yelled from behind me. I turned to see a very mad goddess of wisdom with a very disappointed looking god of heroes behind her.

"I'm looking for answers from a deceitful boyfriend." I said, I couldn't believe they were mad at me.

"Annabeth, why are you acting this way, this isn't like you?" Athena asked.

"What do you mean, you've always taught me to look for answers and to see through deceit and deception?" I said.

"Percy is not trying to deceive you nor hide things from you out of malice or hurtfulness. He was asked to work on a project for his father and brother. He was also told to keep it a secret." Athena said.

"The letter that I read it talked about a girl and he said he loved her." I said.

"Maybe not the best choice of words in a letter, but considering that Poseidon knew about the project and these things have regularly been called female its not out of the realm of the ordinary for these objects to be called a she." Athena said.

"Athena, thank you for defending me, but I don't know if I can live like this. I'm a hero and sometimes I will be asked to keep a secret or in this case to keep a secret in order to surprise people and to make them happy. Annabeth I love you, but I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me. Theseus, I'm sorry, I failed you on this project, please accept my apology." Percy said as he ran from the lake to his cabin, I could see the tears in his eyes, what just happened, I thought?

"Percy!" Athena and Theseus yelled after him, but he ran to fast for them to stop him.

"Mom, what just happened?" I asked.

"You mean you haven't figured it out, Percy just dumped you, I hope your satisfied." Athena said as she disappeared into a golden light.

Theseus just stood there looking at me and then he motioned for me to follow him. He walked to the boathouse and opened the door enough for the two of us to walk in. When we entered I saw Tyson and about ten craftsman, they looked like Atlanteans. They were working on a beautiful sail boat, it was close to being complete. Then Theseus pointed to the back of the boat and written in ancient greek letters was a name, my name, Annabeth.

"You see my dear, I asked Percy to design a sail boat for the lake and two sailing ships for the ocean. They were the first ships he ever designed and the tall girl he spoke of in the letter was this boat. I hope there is a lesson here for you, one that you can learn from. I'm sorry that this lesson had to come at such a high price." Theseus said as he disappeared into a golden light.

I walked outside and fell to my knees. I couldn't believe how stupid I had acted. I let my brain overrule my heart and in turn I let jealousy and anger get the best of me. I had just drove away the love of my life when he did nothing wrong. He had designed this beautiful boat for camp and he named it after me. He had done everything out of love and I ruined it. I had lost Percy, my seaweed brain.

_**I know this was a tough chapter to write, all good relationships have at least one rough spot, lets hope our two heroes can overcome this heartache.**_


	5. Heart Break Warfare

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 5: Heart Break Warfare

**Percy's POV**

I ran to my cabin, I heard Theseus and Athena call after me, but there was know way I was going to stay there. I was so mad I knew if I stayed I would say something or mpre importantly do something that I would regret. Did I just break up with Annabeth? It sure sounded that way. Did I really want to end our relationship over her lack of trust? I wasn't sure, I knew I still loved her deeply, but something about her lack of trust just made me mad. As I entered my room I slammed the door to my cabin. I just sat on my bed with my head in my hands. At first I didn't cry I just couldn't believe what happened. Finally, I guess the realization struck me because the tears started to roll out of me uncontrollably. I wondered if Annabeth was as upset as me, I thought. I leaned back on my bed and cried myself to sleep, I was so tired, exhausted actually.

I woke up the next morning early I felt a little better, except for my broken heart. I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed in my cabin all day long. I sat at my desk and surfed the net looking at ship designs and reading articles on marine biology. I know it sounds boring, but I loved the sea and one thing I found out by designing the three boats was that I loved naval architecture. Yes, me the seaweed brain liked to design ships, I guess you could call me an architect, gods forbid. I walked over and sat down at my drafting table and began to design a catamaran, I poured myself into the design and tried to forget about my broken heart. I looked out my window and it was dark, I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in!" I said. The door opened and in walked Theseus. He smiled at me and said, "We need to talk brother."

"I know, I apologize for running away like that yesterday, but I was upset and getting mad. I felt the lake start to rise and I took off, I didn't want to hurt anyone." I said.

"I know Percy, I felt the water start to rise, you could have flooded camp, but you did the right thing in running to the cabin. I'm not here to talk to you about that." Theseus said.

"So you're here to talk to me about Annabeth." I said.

Theseus just looked at me and I saw the concern in his eyes.

"I will if you want to talk about her. What I really came to do was to tell you to come to the big house and get yourself something to eat. I also wanted to tell you that the ships are complete." Theseus said.

"They are, that's great. I'm sorry about leaving and not helping Tyson finish the boat." I said.

"Percy, please stop apologizing. I think you've done enough of that. Annabeth learned a lesson yesterday, a hard one. She needs to apologize to you. I know Athena will talk to her soon." Theseus said.

"I think I can talk about her if your still willing to listen." I said.

"I'm always here for you, you know that." Theseus said.

"I do. She just upset me so much yesterday. She didn't trust me, then she sent Nico to find out what I was doing, instead of just asking me directly. I guess I should have just told her that you gave me a job to do and that it was a secret." I said.

"Do you think that would have worked?" Theseus asked.

"I don't know, I think she would have been curious and she would have poked around to try to find out the secret job." I said.

"Would you have done the same thing if Annabeth had a secret job to do?" Theseus asked.

"No, I would have trusted her to tell me when she was able. I know sometimes we're given secret missions or jobs. That's part of being a demigod." I said.

"See that is the lesson she needs to learn. Also, she needs to respect people's privacy." Theseus said.

"I know, but her fatal flaw is pride and she has problems trusting people because of all her problems as a kid." I said.

"Well pride is not a fatal flaw that requires you not to trust someone nor does it make you violate someone's private space. I know she has trust issues, but she needs to overcome them, just like you overcame your concentration issues. You see our fatal flaw as you well know Percy is our strong loyalty to friends and family. As part of that we trust those we care for very much and if someone we care for doesn't trust us, then we have a problem. You and Annabeth need to trust each other in order for your relationship to work. I knew that the two of you were soul mates the first time I saw you both together, but you both have to trust each other or your relationship will be continuously fraught with difficulties. Do you understand?" Theseus said. I knew he was right, I just couldn't believe how logical it all was until he said it.

"I know your right, but how do I fix this?" I asked.

"Percy, there is nothing you need to do to fix this, its up to Annabeth. She needs to overcome her trust issue, its her problem." Theseus said.

"I love her, I want to help her." I said.

"Well, give her some time to sort things out and then be there for her and be your loyal self, that's all you need to do. I need to go, I love you brother. I hope everything works out. Oh, before I forget, tonight we are going to show the sail boat off at the lake and tomorrow morning we will show off the two sailing ships by the sea. I want you there for both ceremonies, you did an incredible job on the designs." Theseus said as he smiled and then disappeared in a golden light. I was very happy that he liked my work it made me feel very good.

I walked out of my cabin and walked to the big house. I looked at the Athena cabin, I was temped to go find Annabeth, but Theseus's words came back to me about giving her some time first. So I just made my way to the big house. I walked into the house and headed to the kitchen, I saw Chiron there making some grilled cheese and tomato soup.

"Well, I see that you followed your brothers advice about coming here for some food. I thought you might, here you go Percy." Chiron said as he handed me a bowl of soup and a sandwich. I took the food and sat down at the table. The food was very good and I was hungry. After I finished Chiron stood next to me and I could tell that he had a question.

"Well, I guess you know that I heard about the scene at the lake yesterday?" Chiron asked.

"Yes, sir." I said.

"I'm sorry that Annabeth didn't trust you. I know you understand why." Chiron said.

"I understand about her trust issues." I said.

"Its not just about her trust issue its more specific than that son. She has a problem with getting too close to someone. She always feels that they are going to leave her. I know you don't want to hear about Luke, but she loved him like a brother and he kept secrets from her and then betrayed her and the rest of us. I think deep down she still expects those she loves to betray her. I know you would never do that and I believe she knows that as well, but sometimes it's hard to overcome those deep seated feelings. Do you understand?" Chiron asked.

I looked at him and I understood what he was saying, but I was confused.

"How can someone overcome feelings that are so strong and so rooted in who they are?" I asked.

"They certainly can, but they will fail now and then. They have to learn from their mistakes and they must be reminded of those past failings so they can avoid them in the future. Annabeth is very smart. Give her time to sort through her problem and be there for her." Chiron said.

"That's what Theseus said." I said.

"Well your brother is pretty smart too." Chiron said.

"Chiron, I'm going to go back to my cabin, thank you for the food it was good." I said as I walked out of the kitchen and then out of the house. I walked back to my cabin and I saw Thalia sitting in front of her cabin. She avoided my gaze as I walked to my cabin. I hoped that she felt bad for encouraging Annabeth not to trust me. I went to my room and opened my window. Cool air was blowing in from the lake and it felt incredible. It was about an hour before the sailboat unveiling, so I decided to get in some practice.

**Annabeth's POV**

I had been in my room all day crying off and on. I didn't sleep last night at all. I was tired and I looked a mess. I didn't eat except for a sandwich that Thalia brought me around lunchtime. I had told her what happened yesterday and she felt almost as bad as me. I knew that no one could feel worse than me. My room felt a little stuffy so I opened my window to let in some air. I looked out my window and I forgot that the Athena cabin was at an angle to the back of the Poseidon cabin. I could see a part of Percy's bedroom. I saw Percy go to his window and open it. He looked pretty tired and his eyes were puffy. I guess he had been crying. I didn't know if I should feel good about that are not. I didn't want him to be upset, but if he hated me I doubt he would be crying, would he? Then I heard it, a small strum of a guitar and then a few more like someone was tuning their instrument. Then I realized it was coming from Percy's room. I guess he was going to practice. I stood near my window leaning to the side to get a better view and in order to hear. The music began to play. I recognized the song immediately as Heart Break Warfare by John Mayer. Then I heard Percy start to sing. I forgot how good a voice he had. I just stood there and listened to the words.

Lightning strikes

Inside, my chest to keep me up at night

Dream of ways

To make you understand my pain

Clouds of sulfur in the air

Bombs are falling everywhere

It's heartbreak warfare

Once you want it to begin,

No one really ever wins

In heartbreak warfare

If you want more love,

why don't you say so?

If you want more love,

why don't you say so?

Drop his name

Push it in and twist the knife again

Watch my face

As I pretend to feel no pain

Clouds of sulfur in the air

Bombs are falling everywhere

It's heartbreak warfare

Once you want it to begin,

No one really ever wins

In heartbreak warfare.

If you want more love,

why don't you say so?

If you want more love,

why don't you say so?

Just say so...

How come the only way to know how high you get me

is to see how far I fall

God only knows how much I'd love you if you let me

but I can't break through at all.

It's a heartbreak...

I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight

Let's just fix this whole thing now

I swear to God we're gonna get it right

If you lay your weapon down

Red wine and ambien

You're talking *shit* again, it's heartbreak warfare

Good to know it's all a game

Disappointment has a name, it's heartbreak, heartbreak.

It's heartbreak warfare.

It's heartbreak warfare.

It's heartbreak warfare.

When Percy finished, I noticed the tears falling from my eyes again. It wasn't a breakup song it was a song that I hoped meant that he still loved me, but that he wanted to get back together. I prayed to the gods, that was the case. I knew I had to apologize and beg his forgiveness, but Theseus's words about a lesson kept replaying in my mind. I needed to fix my trust issues I now understood what he meant. Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty and I basically told him that I didn't trust him. That he wasn't loyal to me. How could I be so stupid? That would be like me telling him that he couldn't control water or he couldn't breath underwater. I basically told him that I didn't believe in him, that I thought he was a fake, a fraud. I know why he ran away, if anyone else had told him that he would have destroyed that person, then and there. I noticed Percy's light go out and then I saw him walk down to the lake by the boathouse. I have to go talk to him, but before I could leave a light appeared in my room and dissolved into my mom. She looked incredibly disappointed.

"Annabeth, we need to talk." Athena said.

"Mom, I need to apologize to Percy." I said urgently.

"That can wait for a moment." Athena said as she raised her hand and motioned for me to sit down.

"I know what you're going to say mom, I didn't trust Percy and that was the worst thing I could do to someone with the fatal of flaw of extreme loyalty." I said. My mom just shook her head and smiled.

"I knew you were a fast learner, but you even surprised me." Athena said.

I couldn't help but smile at that, it's not everyday that the goddess of wisdom tells you that you surprised her. "Mom, I'm so sorry that I disappointed you." I said.

"I was only disappointed because I know how important Percy is to you and I don't want you to lose him. I know how horrible I felt when I thought I lost Theseus, I would never want any of my children to feel that pain. Percy loves you incredibly and even though I don't always agree with Aphrodite, you and Percy share true love." Athena said.

"Mom, thank you for caring so much about me. I promise I will work on my trust issues and I will never doubt Percy's loyalty again." I said.

"Good, now you may want to go down to the boathouse because they're getting ready to unveil the sail boat, you know the one named after my favorite daughter." Athena said as she gave me a hug and then she dissolved into a golden light.

I ran down to the lake just in time to see Theseus standing next to Percy. Then I heard the boathouse doors that faced the water open and I saw the sail boat move forward. The boat stopped next to the dock and the lights on the dock came on and the lights on the boat turned on as well. The lights allowed me to see the sailboat it was beautiful. The boat was pretty large for the lake and I guessed it could hold twenty people or ten people very comfortably. The hull of the ship was white with a sea blue-green stripe down the side. There was a smaller mast in the front of the boat with a blue and white sail. Another much larger mast was in the center of the boat and it had a large green and white sail attached to it. Percy, really could design I couldn't believe that the seaweed brain had designed this boat. It was perfect then I looked at the back of the boat where the name was written in ancient Greek. Of course it was my name and I couldn't help but smile.

I looked up and saw Percy staring at me. At first he had a serious look on his face, but when he saw me smiling at the boat, his mouth turned up into that smile I adored. Percy boarded the sailboat and looked around. I knew that look on his face. I got the same look and feeling when I first entered a building I designed. It was a wonderful feeling and I was very happy that Percy could experience that. I felt very close to him at that moment, even though we broke up yesterday and I hadn't even told him I was sorry yet. The rest of camp was incredibly excited.

"Heroes, as you can see we have a new dock and boat house courtesy of Lord Poseidon. We also have a sailboat for the lake. I want to thank Percy for designing this boat and my little brother Tyson and his craftsman for building her. Tomorrow, we will have a unveiling of two other ships designed by Percy, but this time on the beach near the ocean. Lord Poseidon has graced us with our own camp pier and a very large dry dock for our two ocean going sailing ships. I hope everyone has a chance to sail this boat, but first you will have to learn safety, sailing and navigation. Percy has volunteered to conduct classes starting the first official day of camp next week. Thank you all for coming out tonight and I look forward to seeing all of you at the unveiling tomorrow morning." Theseus said.

Everyone left the lake, except Percy who stayed on the boat and of course I stayed on shore. I walked up onto the dock and approached the sailboat. I didn't know exactly how to start this conversation, but I had to say something.

"Percy, can I talk to you please." I said sounding like a nervous little girl, but that's how I felt at the moment.

"I guess so, why don't you come aboard?" Percy said.

"Alright." I said.

I boarded the boat and I noticed the beautiful wood inlay and the plush seats as well as the incredibly elaborate steering wheel and instrument panel. The boat was even more beautiful than I thought.

"How do you like the boat?" Percy asked curiously.

"I think it's beautiful, you did a great job." I said.

'Thank you, so you wanted to tell me something." Percy said cautiously.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you that I was incredibly sorry for not trusting you and for invading your privacy. I have no excuse other than I was stupid and I let my insecurities get the best of me." I said.

Percy just looked at me with those beautiful sea green eyes, but his stare was nothing like I had seen before. He was analyzing me the seaweed brain was actually looking at me as if I was a puzzle that needed solving. It was very disconcerting. This was usually the way I made others feel, but now the tables were turned. I guess I deserved it.

"I will accept your apology on two conditions." Percy said. I couldn't even think what the two conditions could be.

"What are the conditions?" I asked curiously.

"First, you need to work on your trust issues and I will help you as much as I can." Percy said. I couldn't believe he wanted to help me.

"Agreed and what is the second condition?" I asked.

Then I saw that beautiful smile of Percy's and my heart melted.

"Go sailing with me tonight." Percy said. That took me by complete surprise a smile crept across my face.

"I accept! Does that mean we're back together?" I asked.

"I never really broke up with you officially, but yes your not going to get rid of me that easily." Percy said. He walked over to where I was sitting and leaned down and kissed me. The kiss was so sweet and tender that after we broke apart it took me a minute to focus again.

Percy untied the boat, set the sail and stood near the wheel controlling the rudder. The boat pulled forward and we slowly moved away from the dock. The lake was incredibly calm and Percy navigated the boat efficiently and beautifully. I stood up and walked to Percy and put my arm around him. He was so happy steering his boat that I just wanted to be close to him. He was so warm that I didn't need a jacket I just needed to be near him. I looked at him intently and he said, "Is there a problem, are you cold?"

"No, I was just thinking how perfect this feels and how stupid I was to think that you would leave me." I said.

"I'll never leave you wise girl, I love you more than anything in this world." Percy said as he smiled brightly at me.

"I love you too, seaweed brain." I said and at that moment I vowed to always trust Percy and to never let him go.

_**I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter, I just can't allow them to be mad at each other for too long. Next chapter will start the real plot of this story, so hang on!**_


	6. Down to Business

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 6: Down to Business

**Annabeth's POV**

Percy and I stayed out last night sailing for two hours before we returned to our cabins. It was a beautiful night. We were back together and our bond was stronger than it had ever been. I slept incredibly last night and when I woke this morning I was ready for the day ahead. I was excited because we would be unveiling the two sailing ships that Percy designed this morning. I got ready and made my way to the Poseidon cabin to get Percy. As I approached the door it opened suddenly and standing before me smiling madly was Percy.

"Hey wise girl ready to see my two girls get unveiled?" Percy said.

"I can't believe I thought you were cheating on me when you were talking about boats." I said sarcastically.

"These aren't boats, they're ships. You see that ships are what we call sea going vessels." Percy said.

"Is this a long or a short lesson Professor Jackson." I said amusingly.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Very funny wise girl." Percy said.

"Well, you sounded like an Athena kid for a moment." I said sarcastically.

"Let's get to the ocean before they start." Percy said as he grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the big house.

We walked passed the big house and over the hill. The ocean was beautiful this morning it was a brilliant blue-green color. A fine mist hovered over the surface and the sun shined down through the mist forming several small rainbows directly over the water. The ocean was very calm today; I guess Poseidon was giving us a great day for the unveiling. We headed for the large dry dock facility and proceeded to go inside to check on the ships. As we entered the dry dock I couldn't believe what I saw. There were two very large sailing ships inside; I didn't think they would be so big. The ships sat out of the water and you could see the long keel that extended below each vessel. The ship on the left was white with a wide green stripe on the side. The ship on the right was white with a wide blue stripe down the side. Each ship had three very large masts with impressive blue-green sails. These ships looked like they could easily hold fifty people and there appeared to be two levels under the deck. Percy and I climbed into the ship with the blue stripe to look around. We walked below decks and I noticed that there were two levels; the first level had a galley, a communications room, and a study and entertainment area. The bottom level had four rooms, each with four bunk beds per room. The ships were beautiful and the equipment aboard was state of the art.

"Percy they're beautiful." I said.

"Thank you, did you see they're names?" Percy asked.

I walked to the aft of the ship we were on and looked at the name of the ship. The ship we were on was called Aethra.

"Aethra, that's Theseus's moms name, right?" I asked.

"Sure is." Percy said.

I looked at the ship next to us and smiled when I saw the name, Sally.

"Your mom's going to love that Percy." I said.

Percy just smiled and nodded at me.

"Let's get over to the pier, I'm sure Theseus will be waiting." I said.

"I need t do something first." Percy said as he walked to the main control panel.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

'Retracting the keel, if not the ship will run aground when Theseus pulls the release on the dock." Percy said, I guess he did know what he was doing.

Once finished we both boarded the next ship and retracted the other keel as well,

We exited the dry dock and walked to the pier. Theseus was already waiting for us.

"Looks like you two have made up." Theseus said smiling.

""Yes!" Percy and I said at the same time.

"Good, I hate to see the two of you not getting along. So, Annabeth I take it that Percy showed you the ships, what do you think?" Theseus asked.

"They're beautiful, I guess seaweed brain can design ships after all." I said.

"He sure can, dad and I were here last night looking at them. Poseidon was incredibly excited. Percy, he thinks that you are going to be an incredible naval architect. We also talked and came up with an idea that I think all of the campers will love." Theseus said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, I know you don't like surprises, but you're both going to have to wait a little while." Theseus said as he smiled at both of us.

"I've learned my lesson, I can wait." I said.

"Well, if you can wait, then I can." Percy said happily.

As we finished talking more and more campers started to arrive on the beach. Everyone sat in the sand near the pier. After about thirty minutes all of the campers arrived. I was still struck by how few campers we had now. We were still about one hundred campers short. I couldn't believe that we would get that many in two days, which was the official start of camp. I tried to clear my mind of worry and to focus on this happy event.

"Heroes, thank you for coming this morning. As I mentioned last night during the unveiling of the sailboat for the camp lake, we have built two ships for use along the coastal waters. These ships were designed by our own Percy Jackson." Theseus said as the campers cheered.

"Percy, as leader of Camp Half-Blood I thank you for your work and I officially unveil these beautiful ships." Theseus said as he pulled the lever on the pier. The doors to the dry dock opened and ropes and pulleys started to move. The two beautiful ships slowly slid out of the dry dock and entered the ocean adjacent to the pier. Theseus grabbed the rope to one ship and pulled it in place adjacent to the pier in front of the other ship. That would have been a feat for someone, but not for the god of heroes. The ships looked beautiful in the sun. The hulls of both ships shined a beautiful white and the blues and greens sparkled in the sunlight. The sails were not set so they hung loose, but I could imagine how beautiful they would be billowing in the sea breeze. I could hear the cheering and campers talking to each other about how great these ships were.

"One last thing, heroes." Theseus said everyone instantly became quiet when Theseus spoke.

"In honor of these ships and the new training class on sailing that Percy will start this summer, Lord Poseidon and I have devised a contest. Since we have two ships, starting this summer we will have a race at the end of the season. This race will be from our pier around Hero's Island and back. The winning team will receive a special gift from Lord Poseidon. The rules of this contest will be posted tomorrow in the mess hall, but the major rule is that this is a contest not between cabins but between a team of heroes from different cabins. I want to see how heroes from different cabins work together. Those able to compete will be the campers who pass the sailing course. Percy will provide the names of those that are passing his class two weeks before the contest. The two teams will have those two weeks to train for the race. As I said more details will be provided tomorrow. Everyone have a great day." Theseus said. As he finished all of the campers walked back to camp talking feverishly about the contest. The whole camp was excited about the race. I have to admit I was excited, but I wondered what were the other rules; I knew I would have to wait till tomorrow. I guess Percy saw me thinking.

"Wise girl, you're thinking about the race?" Percy said.

"Of course, I want to win that prize." I said.

"I'm sure you do, but you'll need to pass my class first." Percy said as he started to walk back to camp without me. I ran to catch up with him and grabbed his arm. He stopped as soon as I grabbed him.

"What do you mean if I pass?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, you have to pass you heard Theseus. I'm not going to just pass you because you're my girlfriend." Percy said.

"Why not?" I asked, I guess I should have known the answer already. Percy just raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

"First, I wouldn't be a good teacher if I just let my friends pass without actually knowing what to do. Second, this is sailing in a race and it can be dangerous, everyone has to know what their doing or someone could get hurt. Third, Theseus, Poseidon and Athena would kick my butt." Percy said defensively. I just looked at him and smiled.

"Well, I better pass on my own." I said.

Percy looked at me and smiled. "I guess I could always tutor you one on one if you need extra help." Percy said as he put his hands around my waist and leaned down and kissed me. We broke apart and I couldn't do anything, but smile back. We walked hand in hand back to camp. As we reached the training facility I stopped Percy and said, "Do you want to train?" I asked.

"That sounds great, let's go." Percy said as we walked into the training facility. Percy and I both walked into the sword-training center. Nico and Thalia were the only ones in there. I noticed Percy tense up when he saw Thalia; ah crap I thought he's going to do this now.

Percy walked over to Thalia and Nico. Nico smiled when he saw Percy, but his smile faded as he saw the angry look on Percy's face. Thalia was frozen, I could see her trying to look at Percy in the face, but I could only imagine what his eyes looked like at that moment. I walked over and stood next to Thalia hoping that Percy would calm down.

"Thalia, I think you owe me an apology." Percy said matter-of-factly.

Thalia looked at Percy in the face and I saw the anger in his eyes fade, I guess Thalia saw this because she said, "Percy, I'm so sorry for doubting you and for causing Annabeth to doubt you."

Percy just looked at her and a smile slowly formed on his face. Then he began to laugh, it was an angry laugh, but one I could recognize anywhere, it was pure amusement. Thalia's eyes narrowed and I could see a frown form on her face.

"You played me, didn't you?" Thalia accused.

"Like my guitar, pine cone face." Percy said with amusement in his voice. Nico started to laugh until Thalia punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Nico said painfully.

"That's for laughing, dead boy." Thalia said as she gave Nico the death glare.

I couldn't help myself so I started to laugh, everyone stared at me and Thalia said, "What's so funny brain?"

"This whole bantering around. I should have known that Percy couldn't be that mad at you, but that look on your face Thalia it was priceless." I said.

"I guess it must have been." Thalia said as she began to laugh too.

"Do you all want to train with us?" Nico asked, still rubbing his bruised arm.

"Sounds good to me." I said as I looked at Percy. Percy smiled and then nodded in agreement.

"One condition." Percy said.

"What condition?" Thalia, Nico and I asked at the same time.

"Three on one." Percy said. We all looked at Percy stunned.

"You want to fight the three of us?" Thalia asked. I was stunned too, I knew Percy was good, but he couldn't beat the three of us.

"Yes, I've been working with Theseus on a few new techniques." Percy said.

"What kind of techniques?" I asked.

"You'll see if you three aren't too scared that is?" Percy said. I was mad now, I looked at Thalia and Nico; I could tell they were ready to teach the old seaweed brain a lesson of their own.

"We're ready." I challenged.

"Good, let's limber up first, you wouldn't want to cramp up in the middle of a fight, would you?" Percy said.

I was mad now, he's acting so nonchalant, he's going to get it, I thought.

Thalia, Nico and I did our stretching exercises that Chiron had taught us, but when I looked at Percy, he was just sitting on the floor with his legs crossed.

The three of us just stood there and looked at him. Percy closed his eyes and I felt the humidity get pulled out of the room. It became really dry in the room, except for one place. Around Percy a mist was forming and then it started to close in around Percy's body. Then the mist seemed to get pulled into Percy's body. It was incredible I didn't know he could do that. Percy continued to concentrate and I noticed that his skin on his arms and face at least the areas that were visible started to change slightly and become a little darker color almost like he just got a deeper tan, it was definitely weird. Then Percy opened his eyes abruptly and jumped up to his feet in one motion. He took out Riptide and it sprang to life, he was ready I guess.

"Ready?" Percy asked.

Thalia, Nico and I just looked at each other. I could tell that our determination was a little less after what we just saw.

"Yeah, we're ready." I said hopefully.

Aegis exploded open from Thalia's wrist and she held her spear, I took out my knife and Nico held out his sword. We were ready, I guess.

Thalia roared forward first she tried to strike with her spear, but Percy extend his shield just in time to block her. Thalia swiped from the other direction with Aegis, but Percy had already moved in the other direction. He lifted his left leg and with an incredibly quick motion kicked Thalia in the shin. Her momentum carried her forward and she ran into a workout dummy hard. I could tell that she had the wind knocked out of her. I could tell Nico was mad now, he ran forward with his sword, Percy blocked the attack. Percy tried to swipe Nico with his shield, but Nico was ready. Nico ducked under the shield and tried to punch Percy in the stomach. Percy just stood there and let Nico hit him. I thought he was crazy for a moment and then Nico connected with Percy's stomach, I closed my eyes. I heard a scream of pain and a sword hit the ground. I looked up and Nico had dropped his sword and he was clutching his hand in pain. Percy turned and hit Nico with the butt of his sword and Nico lay on the ground unconscious. Thalia charged from behind Percy when she saw Nico fall. Percy sidestepped her attack and tripped her. Thalia fell forward and I caught her. That was enough for me, I charged with my knife and Percy easily blocked my strike. He swung his shield, but I ducked and before Percy could kick me, I jabbed my elbow towards his ribs. I connected and it felt like hitting concrete. I dropped my knife and grabbed my elbow in pain. That was all the distraction that Percy needed, he moved forward and tapped the side of my forehead. My vision blurred and I passed out onto the mat.

I woke up about an hour later with a huge headache. At first I didn't recognize where I was. Then I remembered, I was lying down in the medical treatment portion of the training facility. The walls were white with medical posters and three medical beds. I noticed that Nico and Thalia were there on either side of me. I heard yelling out in the hallway and then I realized it was Theseus. He was really mad.

"What in Hades were you thinking? You can't fight fellow campers with those techniques, you could have really hurt someone." Theseus said.

"Theseus, I'm sorry I thought I could control my intensity. I just wanted to try out the new techniques. You know I wouldn't want to hurt anyone especially them." Percy said worriedly.

"Percy, you are a son of Poseidon and I have taught you things that no other son of Poseidon has ever known except me. These techniques I've learned over three thousand years. They can make you incredibly strong, but they also make you powerful, very powerful. You have to save these techniques until they're really needed. You can train with me, but you have to fight normally around fellow campers, alright?" Theseus said anxiously.

"I'm so sorry, I promise I won't use them against campers. Its just that it feels so incredible to use them and to feel the power within me." Percy said. What power is he talking about?

"Percy, you are my little brother and more importantly you remind me of myself, so much. I don't want you to make my mistakes, alright?" Theseus said sincerely.

"Thank you and I promise to be careful, if anything ever happened to my friends because of me I don't know if I could live with myself." Percy said.

"Exactly, think about that and just make sure this never happens again." Theseus said.

The door handle turned and opened. Percy walked in followed by Theseus.

I sat up and winced in pain when I touched my elbow.

"Ow! That hurts like Hades." I said.

Percy was there in an instant.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have fought the three of you." Percy said emphatically.

"What happened?" I asked curiously.

"My little brother got a little carried away with some fighting techniques that I taught him." Theseus said.

"Are Thalia and Nico going to be alright?" I asked.

"Well, Thalia has a concussion and Nico has some bruises on his head and a broken hand." Theseus said.

"How did that happen?" I asked.

"Well, I guess I got a little carried away." Percy said, I could tell that he felt terrible because he wouldn't look in my eyes when he talked.

"How?" I asked.

Theseus looked at me and then at Percy. Percy nodded and said, "Tell her."

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Percy has learned some techniques that no one other than I know. These techniques use the special powers available to certain sons of Poseidon, like Percy and I." Theseus said.

"What kind of special powers?" I asked curiously.

"You see that my early training with Percy centered around focusing his inner power to control his ADHD and his focus. This has allowed him to do better in school and has made him more efficient in battle. However, there are other ways to use these powers. As a son of Poseidon we can breathe underwater, use the ocean currents to propel us at incredible speed, use the water to heal, and use the water to hurt or kill." Theseus said with dread in his voice.

"I taught Percy how to make his body extremely strong." Theseus said.

"How strong, like he can lift a thousand pounds?" I asked.

"Not that kind of strength although we can use the water in our body and around us to train, strengthen and tone muscles. However, the strength I'm talking about is the skin and bone. You see deep sea creatures have very strong bones and skin in order to survive the incredible water pressure. I taught Percy how to make his body strong like a deep sea fish. So strong in fact that if you hit him it can feel like " Theseus said before I cut him off by saying, "Concrete!"

Theseus looked at me and smiled. "Yes, concrete would be a good comparison." Theseus said.

"What about the speed?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Theseus asked.

"Come on, the speed that you and Percy have. You have the quickest reflexes I have ever seen." I said.

"As a son of Poseidon and since all our bodies are made of water, even those of a god, you see gods have about twenty percent water in they're blood. Percy has more and therefore that is why his powers over water are stronger than mine now. Water can have incredible speed and is in constant motion. Water can be a vapor, a solid or a liquid. This constant motion of molecules can be controlled to make you faster and more agile. At least for someone with Percy's abilities." Theseus said.

"So Percy you never told me about this." I said anxiously.

"I'm sorry, it's not something that's easy to explain that's why I just let Theseus do it. I only know that I can do it, I really don't know all of the ins and outs, yet." Percy said.

"That's why you don't need to be practicing against campers, little brother." Theseus said disappointedly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know this would happen." Percy said, I could tell that he was sincere and something else. I think he was scared.

"Percy, I think you should go to the mess hall for dinner now. Annabeth will be fine actually I want to talk to her." Theseus said.

Percy looked at me and then kissed me on the head and walked out.

"Again I'm sorry that this happened. I thought Percy was mature enough to use his power. I guess I was wrong." Theseus said.

"He's really sacred isn't he?" I asked.

"You have no idea, when the thought of really hurting you and others finally hit him. He was like a little boy. He cried on my shoulder for five minutes straight. He has grown a lot over the last several years, but he can still act like a seaweed brain sometimes. He'll need you to help him grow up just like you need him to help you trust." Theseus said.

"Theseus, I understand if he can be there for me I will be there for him. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked

"No, there is a more pressing issue. Like camp attendance. I know we have another full day until the official camp start date, but recent information has made me alter my opinion. Before I came here I had an IM message with Grover. He was in upstate New York on a mission to bring a young daughter of Demeter to camp. It should have been a routine mission, but Grover said that as he was about to approach the girl a van ran up along side her and two men forcibly subdued her and they drove off with her. He said the license plate was unmarked. I have also heard other similar reports from other satyrs in the last few hours. It appears that someone is capturing young demigods. Most have been first year kids, the easiest to target and capture. Since you were the first to suspect something I wanted to tell you this first. I will let the rest of camp know at dinner tonight. Please stay here and get better, Argus will drop off food for the three of you. I will leave Thalia and Nico in your care until I return." Theseus said, then he disappeared in a golden light.

Someone is grabbing young demigods, who could it be? I was right something was going on. I looked at Thalia and Nico beside me they were still asleep. I didn't envy the headache they would have when they awoke. I sat there near them still trying to fathom who would be stealing young half-bloods. A thought that reminded me of my time as a young demigod trying to get to camp with Luke and Thalia. I knew I had to help find these kids.

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so I wonder who is grabbing young first year half-bloods.**_


	7. Strange Prophecy

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 7: Strange Prophecy

**Percy's POV**

I walked out of the training facility, but I didn't go to the mess hall. I wasn't hungry, how could I eat, I hurt the love of my life and two of my best friends. What have I become? Can I control this strength within me? I feel scared not for myself, but for others. If I can hurt my friends this easily, what about other campers or normal humans? I made my way to my cabin and went into my room. I was so tired, I laid down on my bed and fell asleep still in my clothes.

I awoke and looked at the clock. It was six in the morning, I felt like a swim, I needed to clear my head, I needed to feel calm. The water always made me feel that way. I put on some swim trunks and ran out of my cabin to the lake. It was early, there were only a few campers up and they were too busy exercising to pay any attention to me. As I approached the water I saw the beautiful sailboat at the dock. The sun was low in the sky at the moment, but even so the boat was perfect. I was tempted to take it out for a ride but I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I couldn't face Annabeth, Thalia and Nico at the moment. I hoped they were alright, but I couldn't talk to them, yet. I ran into the water and swam out about one hundred yards from the shore. I sank to the bottom of the lake and sat there with my legs crossed. Several fish came to me and wished me a happy morning. I tried to smile, but I wasn't feeling happy. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I thought about Annabeth, my family and friends. I couldn't let them down. I didn't want them to feel afraid of me. I had to do better, I had to control this strength within me. I won't ever use these techniques again unless absolutely necessary, I thought. I started to feel anxious again and then I let myself get wet and the coolness of the water relaxed me. I prayed to my father for the strength and control I would need. I knew I couldn't hide down here anymore I needed to apologize to Nico and Thalia. The first official day of camp was tomorrow and I had responsibilities. I didn't surface and swim to shore, I walked along the lake bottom. As I walked out of the water I saw three familiar faces staring at me. Annabeth, Thalia and Nico were sitting on the beach looking straight at me as I exited the water. They didn't look mad. Annabeth looked worried. Thalia and Nico looked, well uncomfortable and maybe a little scared. I walked over to them and sat on the beach in front of them.

"Nico, Thalia, I'm sorry that I hurt you both. I shouldn't have fought any of you. Please forgive me." I said sincerely.

Nico and Thalia just looked at me.

"Perce, your my best friend and you know I look up to you like a brother. I forgive you, Theseus and Annabeth told us what happened. I know that you didn't do it on purpose so your forgiven." Nico said.

"Kelp face, I accept your apology, but I have one question. How did you give me a concussion, I can't remember?" Thalia said curiously.

"Well, it wasn't me specifically. When you saw me knock Annabeth out with that head touch thing that Theseus does, you charged me with your spear and Aegis. I knocked the spear out of your hand with Riptide. You turned around and charged again trying to ram me with your shield, so I jump flipped over you." I said.

"What happened after you jump flipped over me?" Thalia asked.

"Well, you kind of ran into the wall and you hit your head on Aegis." I said.

Nico and Annabeth started to laugh.

"I knocked myself out with my own shield?" Thalia asked disbelievingly.

"Yes!" I said.

"Well, at least your hands not broken." Nico said as held up his black cast. Of course Nico would have a black cast.

"How are we supposed to sign that thing?" I asked.

"I have a white pen." Nico said with a devilish smile.

"Seaweed brain, you need to get dressed, so we can go to breakfast." Annabeth motioned to my lack of clothes, then I saw her face turn red and I thought I saw a hint of pink on Thalia's cheeks as well.

"I'll go!" I ran to my cabin and I could feel Annabeth and Thalia looking at me leave. I yelled behind me, "Hey, your making me feel like a piece of meat." I looked back and Thalia and Annabeth had red faces.

After I got dressed I walked outside my cabin, Annabeth, Thalia and Nico were there waiting for me. The four of us walked to the mess hall and then we separated and went to our respective tables. I filled my plate with food and prayed to Poseidon, Theseus and Athena as I emptied half my food into the hearth. I walked back to my table and began to eat. I finally felt hungry for the first time in two days. After I finished, Annabeth walked over from her table and sat next to me. I never can get over how beautiful she is. Her blond hair was pulled into a loose pony tail, but it was still beautiful. Her storm grays eyes always made me feel like I was being pulled into them. I seemed to lose all control when I stared into them.

"Seaweed brain, are you alright?" Annabeth said concerned.

I shook my head once and broke away from her eyes, I guess I really did get lost in them.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of something." I said still a little hazy.

"Are you thinking about the missing campers?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"What missing campers?" I asked, now finally fully over my day dream.

"You didn't here Theseus tell the camp last night as dinner?" Annabeth asked in disbelief.

"Well, I kinda didn't go to dinner last night." I said.

"Where did you go?" Annabeth asked.

"I wasn't hungry so I just went to my cabin." I said.

Annabeth looked at me and I guess she realized why I didn't go because her face softened and she looked at me and said, "I know you didn't mean to hurt us, it will be alright."

"I know you do now, but I didn't know then. So what's going on with missing campers?" I asked.

"Grover spoke to Theseus yesterday and told him that the young girl he was supposed to escort to camp was taken by two men in a black van." Annabeth said.

"Did he get a good look at the men?" I asked.

"No, they were wearing dark clothes and ski masks. He said the van was unmarked and so was the license plate." Annabeth said.

"We need a quest, we have to help them." I said, I saw Annabeth smile at my sudden enthusiasm.

"It's good to have the real Percy back." Annabeth said.

"So are we going to the big house or not?" I asked anxiously.

"If you two are going then we are as well." Thalia said as she and Nico stood in front of us.

"Alright, let's go." Annabeth said.

We all walked out of the mess hall and headed to the big house. As we reached the house. We could hear yelling from inside. As we opened the door, I knew exactly who was yelling.

"We can't send heroes into a mission without knowing what's going on!" Theseus yelled.

"Theseus, please calm down, Chiron's right. We need to send heroes to investigate, this mission is too dangerous for a satyr." Athena said trying to calm down her husband.

"I know it's risky, but this will be a quest. We will have a hero go to the oracle for a prophecy. Hopefully, that will provide additional information." Chiron said.

"Dionysus, what do you think?" Theseus asked excitedly.

"My friend I know you're concerned, but I think this is the best action we can take at the moment." Mr. D said.

Theseus knew when he was outnumbered, he raised his hand in defeat and sat down next to Mr. D.

"Alright you all win, who do we send to ask Rachel?" Theseus said.

"I'll go!" Annabeth said next to me. Everyone turned around and were surprised we were there.

"When did the four of you get here?" Athena asked.

"Just now." I said as the others nodded in agreement.

"Annabeth since you were the first to notice something was amiss, you can go see Rachel for a prophecy." Theseus said.

Annabeth walked out the door and I ran to her before she could leave.

"Wise girl!" I said.

"Yes!" Annabeth said.

"Good luck." I said, then I leaned down and kissed her softly. Her cheeks turned pink and she ran off toward Rachel's temple.

**Annabeth's POV**

Percy always knows how to get me flustered. He couldn't just wish me luck, he had to kiss me too. Now my head is all clouded with thoughts of him. I forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand. As I reached the door to Rachel's temple, I looked up and marveled at how similar this temple was to the one at Delphi. The white marble gleamed in the sun. I entered the temple and I was astounded, instead of looking like a temple, it looked like a modern apartment in New York. I entered what looked exactly like a living room with a couch and a television on the wall. I saw a light in the back hallway so I continued forward and I entered the kitchen. The kitchen was painted a warm yellow and the cabinets were maple with butcher block countertops. A large oak kitchen table was in the middle of the room and sitting at the end of the table was my friend Rachel. Her eyes lit up as she saw.

"Annabeth, its so good to see you." Rachel said.

"Its good to see you too, but I'm sorry this is a business visit and not pleasure." I said.

"That's alright, I've heard about the missing campers, I suspected that a quest would be in order. I'm glad that you're the person they sent." Rachel said.

When Rachel finished speaking lightning seemed to flash outside and when I looked back at Rachel her eyes were glowing green and a mist had somehow entered the room and hung around the floor. The oracle spoke in that multiple voice that I think freaked everyone out, including me.

_ The wise old one schemes_

_ The eagle of mortals takes_

_ The children of the gods quake_

_ Two teams of heroes shall undertake_

_ One led by mischief shall free the restrained_

_ One led by wisdom shall be bested_

_ To destroy the pact the sea must be unleashed_

_ A sacrifice given out of love_

_ Wisdom restores with the power of three_

After Rachel finished she collapsed. I caught her before she could hit the floor. I struggled to carry her, but I managed to get her to the couch in the living room. I placed her on the couch and immediately hers opened.

"What did I say?" Rachel asked.

I told her the prophecy and she couldn't make out any more of it than I could. I said my good-byes to my friend and raced to the big house. As I entered the door I saw Percy standing there waiting for me, surrounded by friends and family.

"What did she say my dear?" Theseus asked.

I told them the entire prophecy and I could see that everyone was processing the words.

"Who would be the old wise one?" I asked.

My mom looked at me and then I saw a sparkle in her eyes and I knew she figured it out.

"It has to be Coeus, the titan of wisdom and intellect." Athena said.

"So a titan is behind this." Percy said.

"It appears so." Chiron added.

"What's the eagle of mortals?" Thalia asked. Everyone shook their heads in complete disbelief.

"The children of the gods quake." Nico said.

"It has to be the young demigods, they have to be scared. They're quaking with fear." I said. Everyone seemed to agree.

"We have never had a quest with two teams before, but the prophecy has told us much about these teams. The first team will be led by a child or children of Hermes and the second team by a daughter of wisdom." Athena said carefully.

"So Annabeth will lead the second team." Percy said.

"I hate to say it, but the Stoll brothers will lead the first team." Theseus said.

It appears that the children of the big three will also participate based on the last line, but its not clear on which team.

"The one led by wisdom shall be bested. That doesn't sound good. I'll go with Annabeth." Thalia said.

"Then I'm going as well." Nico said.

"Considering the third to last line the power of the sea will be needed so I'm in and you know I'm going with Annabeth." Percy said.

"Alright, that's settled then, Percy, Nico and Thalia will go with Annabeth as the second team." Theseus said.

"I will have to speak with Travis and Connor about they're team. I think we should stick with four per team." Theseus said.

Connor and Travis ran in as if on queue.

"What are you two doing here?" Chiron asked suspiciously.

"We heard that we were needed for a quest." Connor said.

"No one outside this room knows that." Theseus said suspiciously as well.

"Alright you two where is it?" Athena said angrily.

"Where's what?" Travis asked innocently.

"The microphone, clearly you two have bugged the big house." Athena added.

I thought Connor and Travis would pass out right then and there. There faces became ashen and they looked nauseous all of a sudden.

"We ... A ... Don't know what you're ..." Connor tried to say.

"Spill it or I swear your both going to be eating shield." Thalia growled.

"Connor made me do it." Travis said as he pointed at his brother.

"You piece of ... You said no one would know." Travis said.

Now I was mad.

"Tell us right now or we will find out how long you too can hold your breath underwater, got it." I said angrily as I winked at Percy.

"It's in the centerpiece." The Stolls said at the same time.

Chiron picked up the centerpiece of flowers that sat in the middle of the table and sure enough on one of the flowers was a hidden microphone. He grabbed it between his fingers and crushed it to pieces.

"Ah man! Dad's gonna kill us now." Travis said.

"You got this form Hermes." Athena said in disbelief.

"It was a birthday gift." Connor said.

"You two are lucky that you are both the lead campers for Hermes and we have a prophecy that requires your a special skills." Theseus said putting an emphasis on the word special.

"You can bring two more campers. Who do you choose?" Chiron asked. The Stoll brothers started whispering and then arguing amongst themselves for at least five minutes and then they both spoke, "We want Clarisse LaRue and Will Solace."

Thats an interesting team I thought. This is the team thats going to rescue the captive half-bloods. I wondered to my self whether this prophecy wasn't a joke played by Apollo. I guess not, but I couldn't shake the thought that this quest just seemed to take a wrong turn.

_**So the Stoll brothers on a quest to save the day. Is that even possible, well the prophecy sure says so, we'll see?**_


	8. The Quest

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 8: The Quest

**Percy's POV**

This had to be the strangest prophecy and quest yet. We have campers being kidnapped and what happens, we have a prophecy that creates two teams of heroes. One team led by Annabeth, no surprise there. The other team led by the Stoll brothers, what in Hades is going on? At least Thalia, Nico and I would be able to help Annabeth on the quest. I feel sorry for Will Solace. I might even feel sorry for Clarisse, I wonder how she'll take the news about going on a quest with the Stolls? Man, I've got to be there when she finds out, priceless.

"Seaweed brain, are you in there?" Annabeth said as she shook my arm. I woke up from my thoughts and looked at her.

"I'm here, I was just wondering what Clarisse will say when she finds out." I said.

"I was thinking that too, I bet she's going to be pissed." Annabeth said with a smile.

"Heroes go to your cabins and pack for your quest. Chiron and I will prepare the details for your travel." Theseus said.

"Theseus one question?" Annabeth said.

"Yes!" Theseus said.

"Where are we going? Do we even know where they're being held?" Annabeth asked.

"Sorry, I guess in the all of the excitement, I forgot to inform you. You see Grover has been following one of the vans and he has informed me of the location of the enemy base." Theseus said.

"Good, so we have a location, where is it?" Annabeth asked.

"It's actually not that far. The base is located in Maine, about fifty miles north of Bar Harbor, just outside a place called Corea. From what Grover tells me the base is located on a cliff that overlooks the ocean. The site is pretty secluded." Theseus said.

"Road trip! Man this is going to be so great!" Connor said as he slapped his brother on the back.

I just looked at the two of them and thought did I act that way at they're age?

"Seaweed brain these two act worse than you did at they're age." Thalia said as she walked up to me and punched me in the arm. Well, at least I wasn't as bad.

"Careful, pine cone face, you wouldn't want to eat shield again would you?" I said with an evil smirk.

Thalia just stared at me and I could see the lightning flash in her eyes. I just stared back at her and noticed for the first time ever that she blinked and then looked away. Maybe I have changed over the last couple of years.

"Percy, stop picking on my girl!" Nico yelled as he ran beside Thalia and placed his arm around her waist.

"Sorry, it was all in fun." I said with a smile.

"You heard Theseus we need to go pack for tomorrow, move it." Annabeth yelled. Thalia and Nico ran out the door hand in hand. I walked to the door and was suddenly tackled by Annabeth.

"You're coming with me seaweed brain." Annabeth yelled as she jumped off my back and grabbed my hand. She pulled me out of the big house. We walked to my cabin and went inside. Annabeth walked with me to my room. I opened the door and Annabeth stopped.

"What happened in here?" Annabeth said. I guess my room was pretty dirty I hadn't cleaned since we started camp.

"I haven't had a chance to pickup yet." I said defensively.

"You have only been in camp a little over a week. How did your room get this filthy? Are you keeping pigs in here with you?" Annabeth asked sarcastically.

"Very funny wise girl!" I said.

"If you're going to that new school of yours, you better learn how to keep your room clean." Annabeth warned.

"Hey, give a guy a break, I'll clean it." I said.

"Well, I need to help you pack." Annabeth said.

"I can pack." I said.

"Since when? You've always needed me to help you." Annabeth said.

I was not going to argue besides I got to spend time with her. I knew she was right I would need to do a better job of cleaning and picking up after myself when I got to school.

"Alright, I need your help." I said.

Annabeth and I packed my bag for the quest and I guess she's right I would have forgotten a few things without her. After we finished I walked her to the Athena cabin to help her pack, even though she didn't need it. When we finished packing the dinner bell rang. Annabeth and I walked to the mess hall together. As we entered we saw an unusual scene unfold in front of us. Actually, the scene started with a chair flying through the air. I pulled Annabeth out of the way just in time to see a chair hit the wall where she had just stood. I looked over to the area where the chair came from and I saw Clarisse, her face was fiery red and she had two demigods cornered. It was Travis and Connor Stoll.

I whispered to Annabeth, "You were right, she is pissed." Annabeth looked at me and laughed softly then said, "It looks like those two will be leading they're team from the infirmary, if they survive that is."

"You two can't be serious this is another one of your practical jokes." Clarisse growled.

Connor and Travis were both frozen in place, they're eyes were so big I thought they might pop out of they're sockets. I would have thought this was funny until a bright light appeared in the room an suddenly standing between Clarisse and the Stolls was an angry god of heroes.

"Clarisse, calm yourself down, these two are telling the truth for once." Theseus yelled.

Clarisse just looked at Theseus in disbelief, she lowered the chair that she was about to crush the Stolls with and I could see the color fade from her face. Her expression turned from one of rage to one of complete bewilderment.

"Your serious, these two are going to lead a quest." Clarisse said.

"I'm afraid the prophecy is clear, the first team will be led by the children of Hermes. Connor and Travis have chosen you to join them on their team." Theseus said.

"I'm not going to be ordered around by Connor-Artist and Travistee." Clarisse said sarcastically.

Connor and Travis both looked at each other and I saw both of their faces turn to angry frowns.

"Hey, don't call us that! It's not even funny, hot head!" Connor and Travis said at the same time.

"I'll show you hot head, you little weasels. How would you like me to shove my spear up your ..." Clarisse said before she was cutoff by Theseus.

"Stop this idiocy. You two be quiet or I'll let her beat you to a pulp, got it!" Theseus yelled at the Stolls. I guess the Stolls were working their magic on my brother. His patience was certainly at an end.

"Hey, she threatened us." Connor said.

"If you don't shut it, I'll let her have you." Theseus said. That shut Connor up, his face paled and he looked ill again.

"I heard that four people are going on this quest, who's the fourth?" Clarisse asked.

Will Solace walked over he looked like he was heading for a firing squad.

"Clarisse, I'm the fourth." Will said sadly.

"They have chosen both of you to go with them, if you choose to decline this you can." Theseus said.

To my knowledge no one had ever declined an invitation to a quest. If they did the entire camp would look at them as cowards, although under the circumstances most campers would probably cut them some slack.

"Alright, I will go, but you two better not act like fools." Clarisse warned.

"If Clarisse is willing to go then I will as well." Will said he still looked like a kid going to the dentist.

After the drama the Stolls went back to their table, Clarisse to hers and Will to his. Theseus just looked at them shaking his head. He walked over and sat at my table.

"If those four don't kill each other during the quest, they might actually survive." Theseus said.

"You look tired brother, are you o.k.?" I asked.

Theseus did look tired I guess he was really worried.

"Having slept a lot, not that I need any, but I feel better when I do. I have a bad feeling about this quest. Those four aren't helping matters either." Theseus said as he pointed toward the Stolls and their team mates.

'Percy that prophecy was strange, but the part about the power of the sea worries me. I think you may have to use all of your power in this quest. Promise me that you'll be careful. The use of all your power is dangerous not just to your team mates and others, but to you as well." Theseus said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you use all of your power too quickly you could burn yourself out or worse. You could kill yourself." Theseus said ominously.

I was stunned, I knew the power was dangerous, but I had no idea it could hurt me.

"Does anyone else know this?" I asked.

"No, this is between you and me." Theseus said.

"I understand, do you really think that I will have to use all of my power?" I asked.

"The prophecy sure made it sound that way. You can do one thing to help your team." Theseus said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Train them on how to concentrate, how to focus. They do not have the same level of ADHD as you, but our focus techniques can help them. It can even make them more powerful and enhance their skills. I think in order for all of you to survive this assistance will be needed. Do you understand?" Theseus asked.

"I do, but I don't think I can teach them as well as you could." I said.

"Don't sell yourself short brother, I have faith in you. You have grown much over the last couple of years and I don't mean just in height. You have made me proud." Theseus said.

"Even with the incident the other day?" I asked.

"Yes, you are young, it was my fault I should have expressed the danger more clearly. Do your best that's all I can ask." Theseus said.

"Thank you, brother." I said.

"Your welcome, I need to go to Olympus. I will see all of you tomorrow before you leave. Please tell everyone that they need to be at the top of Half-Blood hill at six in the morning." Theseus said as he began to glow and disappeared in a golden light.

I finished my dinner and stayed at my table until most of the camper had left. Annabeth, Thalia and Nico walked over and joined me at my table.

"I saw you talking with Theseus, is there something wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"No, he just wanted to talk to me about the quest." I said. I lied I didn't want to worry her.

"Anything in particular?" Annabeth asked I could see the curiosity in her eyes.

"Well, he wants me to train the three of you in our focus techniques." I said.

"Really!' Thalia said.

"I thought that was dangerous." Nico said.

"No the focus techniques aren't." I said.

"The dangerous stuff deals with the use of my powers over water and other elements." I said.

"Will these focus techniques make us stronger?" Annabeth asked.

"No, but they will help you control your ADHD, which can lead to enhanced reflexes, improved concentration and greater control of your powers." I said.

"I don't have powers like you all, but the other two sound pretty good." Annabeth said.

"When do we start the training?" Nico asked.

"Right now, I'll meet all of you at the lake in say ten minutes." I left the three of them at my table and walked back to my cabin. I went to my room and sat on my bed for a moment. I thought about the first time Theseus trained me, when he was just a voice in my head. I thought back to what he had told me and then I focused on what needed to be done. Theseus was counting on me to help the others I calmed myself and focused on how I should train them. The memories of previous training sessions came back to me. When I finally opened my eyes again, I was ready. I noticed only eight minutes had passed. I left my room and cabin to go to the lake. As I walked to the beach I saw my three friends waiting for me.

"Are you all ready?" I asked.

"Yes!" They all three said at once.

"Now sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Focus all of your strength and will power. You will fee a tug at the pit of your stomach." I said.

They all three nodded in agreement.

"Good, now use that strength to focus your mind, do you feel something moving and pulling you in multiple directions. You will feel this in your mind as you focus." I said.

They all nodded in agreement again.

"Very good, that is your ADHD working. It wants you too lose focus to move around wildly. I want you to use your strength and your will to surround the ADHD. Do you feel it?" I asked.

"Yes!" They all three said as once.

"Good, now focus on your will and strength. Use your will to harness the power of the ADHD. Will it to serve you. Do you feel it?" I asked again.

"Yes, I feel it." They all three said at once.

"You're all doing great. Now you all are in control. Stand up and open your eyes." I said.

My three students stood and opened they're eyes.

"Now use your hands to block the water." I said as I began to use my mind to propel large droplets of lake water at my students. All three began to block the water droplets at an ever increasing rate. I began to speed up the onslaught until I determined that they could not go any faster. I kept up the onslaught for at least twenty minutes and then I stopped abruptly.

"That's enough!" I said. My students visibly exhaled and I could sense their exhaustion.

"All three of you did very well, congratulations. You all have taken your first steps to enhancing your abilities." I said.

Thalia and Nico sat next to each other, I could tell they were very tired. I walked over to Annabeth and sat down next to her. She leaned against my shoulder, I could tell she was exhausted, much more so that the others.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that the children of the big three can handle this much better." I said.

"It's fine, the feeling was incredible. I felt great, can you help me to my cabin?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure, I'll carry you." I said as I picked her up in my arms bridal style and carried her back to her cabin. I gently laid her on her bed. She was already asleep by the time I made it to her cabin. I covered her up and kissed her softly. She was so beautiful, even as tired as she was I couldn't help but stare at her. I walked back down to the beach and saw Thalia and Nico asleep side by side.

I walked up to Nico and touched his shoulder, he immediately sat up quickly.

"It's o.k. Buddy, it's Percy. Come on you need to get up. Can you help me get Thalia to her cabin?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. Nico stood up, he looked strong enough to walk back to his cabin. I grabbed Thalia, she was out cold. I carried her over my shoulder to her cabin with Nico following me slowly. Nico and I put Thalia to bed and I helped Nico to his cabin. By the time I returned to my cabin it was well passed curfew. I made it back without any harpy attacks. I went to sleep still thinking about what Theseus had told me about my strength. To say I was worried would be lying, I was scared. For the first time I was actually scared of my abilties. I finally fell asleep after about an hour of worrying.

I awoke the next morning at five. I was still tired, but I got ready for the quest. I left my cabin just before six in the morning, I only had a few minutes to get to the hill. I exited my cabin and saw Annabeth walking towards me at a leisurely pace.

"We have to hurry, Argus will be waiting for us its almost six." I said as Thalia and Nico ran up to us.

"Don't worry I found this note on my door this morning from Chiron saying that Argus had a problem with the van, a flat tire. So we will be leaving a little later." Annabeth said as she held the note for us to see.

We walked to the beach to wait until it was time to leave. I heard galloping behind us and I saw a worried Chiron galloping toward us with Theseus behind me from half-blood hill.

"Where have you been?" Theseus said.

"We were going to wait here until Argus had fixed the van's tire." Annabeth said.

"The van tire is fine, I just saw the van drive off, we thought you all left without saying goodbye." Chiron said.

"What? I have a note from you saying the tire was flat and that we would be leaving later." Annabeth said.

Annabeth held up the note so Theseus and Chiron could see. Chiron's eyes grew big and an angry expression formed on his face.

"Those little bastards! I never wrote that note." Chiron said, I never heard him talk that way before.

"What happened?" Nico asked.

"The Stoll brothers and their team left without you." Theseus said.

"Argus would never let them do that." I said.

"We need to find Argus, let's go to the van's garage." Theseus said.

We all gathered around my brother and we dissolved into a bright golden light. We reappeared in the garage. I flipped on the light and then we saw him, Argus was tied up on the ground, he was unconscious with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his shoulder.

"Damn them, there going to be on kitchen duty for the rest of the summer when they return." Chiron said.

We all helped untie Argus and we propped him up against the wall. He wouldn't wake up for another hour.

"How do we get there now?" Thalia asked.

"Theseus, you said that the enemy base is near the ocean, correct." Annabeth said.

"That's a great idea Annabeth, you can take one of the ships there." Theseus said.

"You all go to the pier. The Aethra is fully stocked for a trip take her. Good luck to all of you. Chiron and I will take care of Argus." Theseus said.

"Go with the gods, heroes." Chiron said as we ran off toward the ocean.

The four of us ran through camp. We ran passed the big house and down the hill to the beach. The Aethra was clearly visible, with her sister ship behind her. We boarded the ship and I barked orders to my fellow team mates. Since I was the only one who knew how to sail I took charge. No one complained. The four of us worked together very well and I steered us north toward Maine. The Stolls had a head start, but I knew I could make that up and then some. Those two Hermes kids were in trouble and I don't mean from Theseus and Chiron. I saw the look on Annabeth's face, she was going to make them pay, I shivered at the thought. They were so dead.

_**Well the Stoll brothers sure know how to start a quest, let's hope they know how to finish one.**_


	9. The Sea

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 9: The Sea

**Annabeth's POV**

I'm so pissed right now I could scream. I know that's not a usual thing for a daughter of Athena, but if the Stolls can make Chiron curse then I don't feel as bad. I'm going to teach those two a lesson as soon as I catch them. Well, to get back to reality, Percy is handling the wheel of the ship, expertly I might add. Instead of just using his abilities to run the ship by himself he has been letting the rest of us help. He has surprised me with how good of a teacher he can be, when he's not being a seaweed brain. However, I can't shake the feeling that something is bothering him. Every since his conversation with Theseus in the mess hall, he's been acting a little preoccupied. I'll have to ask him about it.

"Where are Thals and Nico?" I asked Percy.

"They went downstairs, they looked a little green. I think they're sea sick. I sent them down to get some Dramamine." Percy said.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Fine, the ship handles like a dream. I'm getting ready to set the auto pilot." Percy said.

"Auto pilot, I didn't know you could have one on a sailing ship." I said.

"Not all, but this instrument panel was designed by Hephaestus, he actually designed all of the controls and electronics onboard." Percy said gesturing for me to walk to the controls.

I walked to Percy and looked at the control panel, I hadn't noticed all of the controls. There were controls for; ten different types of lights, navigation system with auto pilot, a radio, sail extension system, anchors, electric back-up motor, battery back-ups, solar panel displays, weather displays, radar system and a underwater camera.

"Can you turn on the underwater camera?" I asked curiously.

"Sure, it is pretty cool." Percy said, he flicked the switch on the control panel and a small screen about five inches by five inches in size slid out from the control panel. Suddenly the screen came on and I could see the rudder behind the ship and the wake extending back from the boat. The camera was in a wide angle display and I estimated that you could see about twenty feet below the ship as well as thirty feet to the starboard and port sides of the ship. The visual quality was excellent. Suddenly, out from nowhere a large figure appeared by the ship, it looked like a large fish and as it came closer I realized that it was a great white shark. The shark was about twenty feet in length easy. I noticed Percy's eyes close.

"Percy what's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Oh, that's her." Percy said.

"Who! The shark?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the shark that helped Theseus in Greece when he fought the water Drakon." Percy said.

"Really, she's along way from home." I said.

"Not necessarily it has been speculated that great whites travel thousands of miles in a year as they go to different hunting grounds." Percy said sounding all intellectual.

"There you go acting like the professor again." I said playfully.

"O.K., she's talking to me, she has a message for me. Stay here I'll be right back." Percy said, before I could say anything he jumped overboard fully dressed.

I looked back at the screen and sure enough there was Percy swimming alongside the shark and I could almost see them communicating by their movements. Percy nodded and rubbed his hand on the sharks massive head as the shark turned and swam away. I looked at Percy and he suddenly exploded up out of the water and landed on the aft deck of the ship, fully dry. Once he caught his breath he ran over to me.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously.

"It was a message from Theseus. He gave us coordinates to safely harbor the ship. There is a small inlet just north of the enemy base. We should be able to anchor there safely. She gave me the coordinates so I shouldn't have a problem at all finding it." Percy said.

"That's great, talk about a unique way of sending a message." I said.

"It sure was, but as you know the gods can't help us directly with a quest, but since the Stolls took our ride Zeus allowed this assistance as long as Theseus did not tell us in person." Percy said.

"I'm glad he helped I was worried about anchoring off a cliff with the ship, especially if a storm came a shore while we were in the middle of a rescue." I said.

"Well I checked the weather radio reports and there is a storm on its way. It's at least two days away, but the inlet is secluded and protected enough that the ship should weather the storm just fine." Percy said.

"Good, that's one less thing to worry about." I said, I could tell that my words reminded Percy of something, something troubling.

"What's wrong you have been acting a little strange since we left camp?" I asked.

"Theseus was concerned about the prophecy you know the line about how the power of the sea will be unleashed." Percy said carefully.

"What's the problem? That just means that you will be using your powers." I said matter-of-factly. Percy's face was blank and I saw something in his eyes I rarely ever saw, fear.

"It's just he's worried that I might have to use too much power, that I might hurt someone that's not an enemy." Percy said nervously.

"Percy, you'll be careful, we all have faith in you." I said reassuringly.

"Thank you, I know I can always count on you to make me feel better." Percy said as he smiled at me. It wasn't his usual care free smile this one looked forced.

"Are you telling me everything?" I asked.

"Yes, that's it and of course the Stolls are idiots." Percy said with his normal carefree smirk. I guess there wasn't anything else, but I'm going to keep an eye on him just in case.

The sun was high in the sky and the water was a beautiful blue-green color that exactly matched Percy's eyes. After all of the years that I've know him I'm still captivated by his eyes. They are the most beautiful color in the world, at least to me. The ship sailed straight and fast, Percy said that we were racing at an incredible twenty knots. Maybe Poseidon was giving us a little help too.

"Hey, wise girl come here I have something to show you." Percy said I walked back over to the control panel I guess I had wondered off a little as I was thinking.

"What's up?" I asked.

"See this button right here?" Percy asked.

"Yes!" I said.

"Push it!" Percy said as he smiled at me. I looked at the button and then back at Percy. His smile was genuine and not mischievous. I pushed the button and a large leather couch slid out of the wall opposite the wheel.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"In case the captain wants to stay up on deck by the wheel. You can relax in style." Percy said.

"Are you going to stay up here all night?" I asked.

"Maybe, I'm not tired and I want to make sure that we make up some ground on the other team." Percy said.

"Do you mind if I stay up here with you for a while?" I asked, knowing that he would say yes.

"Sure, I was hoping you would ask that." Percy said as he sat down on the couch and motioned for me to join him. I sat down next to him and he placed his arm around me and held me tight. I leaned my head on his chest and we stayed there just like that for a few minutes before one of us spoke.

"Have you figured out whether you're going to stay in a dorm or get your own place when you go to Columbia?" Percy asked.

"Well, my mom said she could help me get setup with a place that's close to Olympus and not too far from Columbia." I said.

"That sounds great, I'm sure Athena is proud of you." Percy said.

"She told me that the other day and it always makes me proud." I said remembering the last time my mom told me that she was proud of me.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Theseus told me he was proud of me before we left." Percy said.

"So where are you going to stay at school?" I asked curiously.

"Well since SUNY Maritime has a regimental curriculum. I have to stay on campus in the dorm with a roommate of course." Percy said.

"Well you should like that. You always wanted a regular roommate at camp." I said.

"Yeah, your right I do. It's just that I will have to keep a part of my life secret from them. I never liked that part of high school. I know I'm not going to like having to do it in college." Percy said. I understood what he meant. It was always so much easier at camp where everybody knew what you were.

"So do you ever think about the future?" I asked just trying to take his mind off of school and off of other responsibilities.

"Future as in careers or something else?" Percy asked curiously.

"Future as in us." I said hopefully.

"Wise girl you know I don't want anyone, but you." Percy said pointedly.

"Well, I know I want to be with you in the future." I said.

"Are you asking whether I ever think of marriage?" Percy said nervously.

"Does marriage make you nervous?" I said feeling a little self-conscious now.

"A little, but not in a bad way. It's just that we're only eighteen and we have our whole lives ahead of us, hopefully." Percy said.

"I thought you might be nervous about the idea of marriage with me." I said.

"That's not the case at all. You and I both have plans for school and for careers. I want to make sure that we both have the opportunity to do those things before get married and have kids." Percy said.

"Whoever said anything about kids, seaweed brain?" I said it was his turn to feel self-conscious.

"You don't want children when you're married?" Percy said he sounded like a little kid asking his mom a question he was so damn cute.

"Of course I do I was just messing with you." I said.

"Good because I want to have kids." Percy said. I never knew he wanted kids.

"A girl or a boy?" I asked I knew he would want a boy that he could go surf with or play in the water with.

"I want a little girl that looks exactly like you. A beautiful blond haired and gray eyed girl." Percy said as he smiled that wonderful smile at me. I was shocked, he surprised me again and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"That's so sweet seaweed brain." I said, gods I sound so sappy.

"Well you know me, I'm just a romantic." Percy said sarcastically.

I elbowed him in the ribs a little just to make him squirm. Then I leaned up to his neck and kissed him softly. He made a slight groan and I could feel his body tense. I loved that I had that effect on him.

"Hey, you better stop that or I might hit a wrong button on the control panel." Percy said.

"It's not my fault that I have that effect on you." I said innocently.

"You know exactly what effect you have on me, wise girl." Percy said as he stared down at me with those green eyes and I felt myself go numb, he reached down and kissed me. I had a tingling sensation from my head to my toes. As he broke away from the kiss I felt myself trying to push forward in order to keep kissing. Then I heard Percy chuckle to himself.

"What's so funny, seaweed brain." I said incredulously.

"Well, Theseus taught me one thing about entertainment." Percy said.

"What's that?" I said curiously and still awfully flustered from the kiss.

"You have to keep them coming back for more." Percy said as he gave me his patented smirk.

"Well the audience can always get upset if they feel deprived and leave." I said matter-of-factly as I stood up from the couch and tried to walk away. One problem Percy grabbed a hold of my shoulder and turned me around. He leaned down and kissed me again. This kiss wasn't soft it was harder and more urgent, like he thought I would leave and never come back. When we broke apart I had a hard time catching my breath and Percy's face was red.

I looked at him and I could see the hunger in his eyes. I got a little afraid.

"Percy, I think I'm going to go downstairs. I'm feeling tired." I said anxiously. I could see the surprise on his face, I didn't let him say anything I just ran down the stairs to the lower decks and found one of the empty crew quarters. I didn't even look for Thals or Nico. I sat down on one of the bunk beds I couldn't believe the feeling that kiss had on me. Percy was like a hungry animal. I wasn't really scared of him as much as I was scared of what I would do if I stayed up there. I lay down on the bed and thought about those emotions and those desires. I knew they were there in the back of my mind when I looked at Percy, but I never knew they could be this strong. I love him with all my heart, but these desires were beyond just love I guess this was lust and the animal desire that comes with it. I wasn't ready to go further with Percy in that direction yet. I wanted our first time to be perfect, special. I hoped he would understand I knew guys thought differently about these things. However, Percy was different than your average guy. He didn't love or befriend that many people, but when he did that person could always count on him to be there. He was loyal to a fault and in his case it could be a fatal flaw, but as fatal flaws go it was definitely one of the better ones. I kept thinking about Percy as I fell asleep, then I dreamed of him.

About an hour later I awoke, I heard a sound coming from up on deck. I walked out of the crew quarters and looked for Thals and Nico. I walked to another level and found them in the entertainment room. They were asleep with the satellite television on. I continued to hear the music so I walked up to the stairway that led to the deck. Then I realized that the sound was music. Not just any kind of music, it was a guitar playing and then I heard Percy start to sing. I wasn't too familiar with the song so I used the App Shazam and it turned out the song was Annie's Song by John Denver. I listened intently to the words as Percy sang.

_You fill up my senses like a night in a forest _

_Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain _

_Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean _

_You fill up my senses come fill me again. _

_Come let me love you, let me give my life to you _

_Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms _

_Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you _

_Come let me love you, come love me again._

_...Let me give my life to you _

_Come let me love you, come love me again. _

_You fill up my senses like a night in a forest _

_Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain _

_Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean _

_You fill up my senses, come fill me again.__  
_

The song was beautiful I didn't go upstairs it was dark outside at the moment. I knew it would be beautiful up there, but I guess I was still a little scared. I wasn't ready, not that Percy would push or anything, but I was more afraid of what I would do. So I went back to the crew quarters and fell asleep again. I dreamed even more of Percy, but this time it was about the songs that he sang just for me.

I awoke the next morning with the sun shining through one of the portholes. I cleaned up and went upstairs to see that Percy was already up and he had already cleaned up. He looked great for someone who clearly stayed on deck all night.

"Hello wise girl, sleep well?" Percy said when he saw me.

"I slept well, thank you. You look great for someone who slept on a couch while steering a ship all night." I said.

"It's the sea air, it always energizes me. I feel incredible actually." Percy said with a beautiful smile. His eyes were almost glowing I never saw them this way. They were incredible.

Then I heard cursing and a few garbled sentences from below decks, then Thals and Nico walked up. They looked like Tartarus.

"You all look terrible, I take it that you both had a rough night." I said.

"You think!" Thalia said her voice was rough and I could tell she must have puked a lot yesterday.

Nico looked paler than normal if that's possible. He was holding his head like he had a hangover.

"Nico, man you look like you woke up on the wrong side of Cerberus." Percy said.

"I feel like Cerberus ate me and then threw me back up." Nico said with the same hoarse voice as Thalia.

"Did you all find the Dramamine?" Percy asked.

"The what?" Thalia asked.

"You didn't take it?" Percy asked incredulously.

"No, I never heard you I was too busy puking my guts out." Nico said as Thals nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll go an get it for you two." Percy said as he ran downstairs and came back with a very large medical kit. It was the size of a treasure chest. Percy opened it and found a green bottle with the medicine. He handed two pills each to Thals and Nico. They took them and then sat down at the table on the deck and then laid their heads flat on the table as if they were about to pass out.

"So much for mind over matter. I guess these two children of the big three can't handle their uncles domain." Percy said sarcastically.

"I'm surprised I'm not sick. You'll be fine, this isn't your first sea voyage." Percy said.

"I remember it's hard to forget that." I said still remembering the siren's song and it's effect on me.

"Don't worry, no sirens here unless you count a certain son of Poseidon with a guitar." Percy smiled as he took out his guitar and began to play Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid.

"Come on kids music." I said as I began to laugh.

"I had to play something for these poor sick Disney kids." Percy said jokingly as he pointed to Thalia and Nico.

Thals just raised her hand and extended a certain middle finger toward my boyfriend. Instead of getting mad Percy just began to laugh and continued the song until he finished.

When Percy finished playing he went back to the controls and disengaged the automatic pilot. He started to analyze the controls and look at the navigation system.

"Where are we now?" I asked.

"We're half-way there. We should arrive at the inlet tomorrow morning." Percy said.

"Are we ahead of the Stolls?" I asked.

"We are as long as they stopped somewhere on there way, if not they will be there tonight." Percy said.

"I'm sure they stopped Clarisse would want to make sure everyone was rested before trying to rescue the captives." I said.

"Agreed, so we should beat them by three or four hours." Percy said.

"Good, what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Well, hopefully the Dramamine will kick in soon and our friends here will be up and about. If that happens, we might as well continue your training." Percy said.

"Is that safe to do on the ship?" I asked.

"Sure it is I won't let you destroy the ship. We'll continue working on reflexes, speed and agility. No use of big three powers on this ship, except mine of course." Percy said.

"Well while we're waiting I'll make some breakfast. How about waffles?" I asked.

"Sounds good, there are some frozen waffles in the fridge." Percy said.

I went downstairs to the galley and made breakfast it only took me about twenty minutes. I came back on deck and Thalia and Nico were sitting up. They both had a little more color on the faces.

"Hey, want some breakfast." I said as I put the waffles on the table. Thalia and Nico looked at the plate and they started to make horrible faces and noises in the back of their throats. They both ran to the side of the ship and began puking again. I didn't think they could have anything left in their stomachs after yesterday. With these two sick children of the big three this was going to be a long voyage.

_**Hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter. I wanted to add a chapter about Percy and Annabeth. Next chapter will have some action.**_


	10. Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 10: Arrival

**Percy's POV**

After breakfast it took Annabeth and I several hours to get Thalia and Nico over their sea sickness. By early afternoon we were all able to continue the training lessons. I worked with my three students until evening and then we broke for dinner. After we ate Thalia and Nico went below deck to sleep as they were exhausted from being sick and the training. I sat on the couch and continued to navigate the ship. Annabeth walked over to me and stood next to the controls. At first I thought she was looking at the navigation system, but then she turned around and I could tell she was concerned about something.

"Percy, are you mad at me about last night?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Mad about what?" I asked.

"You know, when I left early to go to sleep." Annabeth said.

"Ah that, I wasn't mad, maybe a little disappointed." I said. Actually I was a lot disappointed, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"I'm sorry I just thought we were going too fast. I'm not ready to go that far." Annabeth said.

"What do you mean that far? I thought you were just tired and you didn't want to make out." I said. Was she talking about sex?

"Come on seaweed brain, you know what I'm talking about." Annabeth said.

"Oh that! Did you think that I wanted to do that last night?" I asked.

Annabeth looked a little uncomfortable. "You mean that you weren't thinking about that?" Annabeth asked.

"No, not last night I was just thinking that we might make out under the stars, that's all. Not that I haven't thought about that, but I don't want to pressure you and besides I don't know if I'm ready to go that far yet." I said as I rambled on nervously. Annabeth just looked at me and I could see that she was trying to repress her laughter.

"Hey, you're laughing at me." I said.

"A little, it's just that I thought that if I stayed up here last night that you would want to go further than just making out." Annabeth said.

"You did, I'm sorry if I gave you that impression." I said.

"It's o.k Percy, I guess I forget that you're the best boy friend on the earth and not a sex crazed guy." I said.

"Well I am a guy, but I love you too much to rush you into anything that you're not perfectly alright with." I said sincerely.

"Percy you're the best." Annabeth said as she sat down next to me and hugged me tightly. Her hugs always made me melt, I felt like I would slide right off the couch.

Annabeth looked up at me and said, "I don't know what's gotten into me lately last night and what happened with our fight at camp. It's like someone is urging me on or influencing me somehow."

"You mean when it comes to you and I." I said.

"Yeah, like someone wants us to break up or go too far too fast." Annabeth said.

"Could that someone be Aphrodite?" I asked. I saw Annabeth's eyes grow big with realization.

"Your right that sounds a lot like her. She would love to add drama to our lives." Annabeth said.

"Not that we need any more drama with quests and kidnappings to deal with." I said sarcastically.

"What can we do to stop her?" Annabeth asked.

"You know the next time you feel your emotions change abruptly or when you feel like your not yourself use your focus techniques and try to clear your mind. If you do that you might be able to catch Aphrodite red handed." I said.

"I'll try that, thanks." Annabeth said.

"Your welcome, wise girl." I said as I placed the ship on autopilot and leaned back on the couch holding my wise girl. She was the smartest person I knew and my best friend. I loved her more than she knew. I felt her stir a little from under my grasp and I knew she felt that we were close to our destination.

"How close are we now?" Annabeth asked.

"About two hours from the inlet." I said.

"Good, we need to prepare. I'll go get Nico and Thals." Annabeth said.

"I'll take care of the ship." I said as Annabeth walked below deck to get my cousins ready. Our long trip was almost over and the dangerous part, the part I dreaded was about to begin. I'm not use to such anxiety over a quest, but that prophecy and my talk with Theseus had really worried me. I prayed to the gods that everything would work out.

An hour later Annabeth came back on deck followed by my cousins. Thalia and Nico looked a lot better, I guess the fact that this trip was almost over made them start to feel good.

"If you look to your left you can see, Bar Harbor, Maine." I said as I motioned to the port side of the ship. The small city was visible, but everything still looked quite small based on our distance from shore.

"We're just under an hour away from our destination." Annabeth said and I nodded in agreement.

Thirty minutes later I saw the cliffs along the shoreline come into view. They looked to be made from granite bedrock and rose at least fifty feet above the ocean. The side of the cliff facing the ocean was a shear drop off to the water below with no visible beach or shoreline visible below them. The sky was bright blue and clear today. We had a few hours before it was dark, so if we needed to hurry to inlet and then find this enemy base.

"Where is the inlet?" Annabeth asked.

"It should be about two miles north of the cliffs." I said expectantly.

As we approached the last cliff I noticed a large dark structure perched on the top of the it. As we came closer I discovered that it was a castle made of a very dark stone. It looked like something from a horror movie.

"That's got to be the enemy base." Annabeth said as she pointed toward the castle.

"That place looks pretty creepy to me." Thalia said.

"I don't know I think it looks kinda cool." Nico said. Dead head would think it was cool.

"There's the inlet, look that a way." I said as I pointed to the inlet as it came into view.

I steered the ship straight for the inlet at full speed. As we approached I lowered the sails and powered up the electric motor. We slowly made our way into the inlet. I found a safe place to anchor the ship and then walked to the port side of the ship and lowered the inflatable zodiac.

"Nice job Percy, team lets go everyone board the zodiac." Annabeth said.

We all boarded the zodiac and I started the small outboard motor and we made our way to the nearest shoreline. The shore was made of crushed granite rock and dark sand. We walked on shore and looked around for any possible trails. I slid the zodiac onto shore and covered it with vegetation to hide it.

"Look there's a dirt path leading from the shore, we should follow it." Annbeth said.

We all followed Annabeth as she led us along the dirt path about a mile inland until we reached a quiet two lane road.

"Let's take this road south and hopefully it will back track us to the castle." Annabeth said.

We continued to follow her for at least two miles until we saw a fence with a sign attached to it. The sign said Castle Orion. I pulled out some binoculars from my bag and peered into the property, clearly visible about five hundred yards from the fence was the castle. It didn't look quite as big as it did from the sea, but it was still a very large structure.

"Annabeth look, see those trees near the south wall of the castle?" I said.

"I do, that would be a good place to hide while we plan our entry into the castle." Annabeth said.

"How do we get there?" Thalia asked.

"Ask your boyfriend." Annabeth said as we all looked at Nico, then I saw Thals eyes light up in realization.

"What? Why are you all lookin at me that way?" Nico said.

"Nico, buddy we need you to shadow travel all of us to those woods." I said as I pointed to the trees near the castle.

"Sure, I can do that." Nico said as he gathered everyone around him. We all grabbed his arms and then ran toward a large shadow under a nearby tree. We all rematerialized under the group of trees near the castle's south wall.

"I haven't seen any guards yet." Thalia said.

"That's because the castle is pretty protected by the wall around it and the guards that patrol the top of the wall." Annabeth said as she pointed to guards on the wall. I could see at least three guards and they were carrying automatic rifles.

"They sure don't look like enemy demigods to me." I said.

"You're right they could be mercenaries like Prometheus had on Alcatraz Island, remember." Annabeth said. She's right of course they could be mercenaries.

"How in Hades are we going to get in there?" I said anxiously. I could tell by the expression on Annabeth's face that she was thinking hard. I knew she would come up with a plan, so I stepped away from her for a while and took out my binoculars again to look at those guards more closely. I focused on their uniforms, maybe there was a logo or something. The guards were dressed in all black with a Kevlar vest. They had a holster with a pistol attached. They carried an assault rifle and then I saw it. There was a patch on the side of the guard's shoulder. I focused on the patch it was round and had red, white and blue stripes that ran around the perimeter of the patch. Inside the patch was an eagle holding a magnifying glass in one talon and a dagger in the other. There were some words written around the eagle, it said Project Orion. The background behind the eagle was the familiar flag of the United States of America. I froze when I realized what this meant. I walked back over to Annabeth and the others. I guess Annabeth saw my expression because she asked, "Seaweed brain, what's going on?"

"I looked at one of the guards more closely and this guy had a patch on his uniform that says Project Orion." I said.

"Alright, that explains the name of the castle." Thalia said.

"That's not all the patch shows a bald eagle holding a magnifying glass in one talon and a dagger in the other. The background of the patch is the United Stated flag." I said.

I saw Annabeth's eyes light up in realization.

"You think this operation is run by our government?" Annabeth asked.

"I certainly do, at least a covert part of the government." I said.

"Why do you think it's covert?" Thalia asked.

"Well they certainly aren't advertising this place as a government facility." I said.

"Percy's right, but why would they be capturing demigods?" Annabeth asked.

"They probably think we're aliens or something. You know like Roswell and that stuff." Nico said.

"I think you've been reading too many of those sci-fi books." Thalia said as she elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs.

"Hey, I was just trying to be helpful." Nico said as he gave Thalia one of his patented son of Hades fiery eyes looks.

"The prophecy says that the _eagle of mortals takes_, that could mean the U.S. government; the bald eagle is the government's symbol after all." Annabeth said.

"So the government or at least a secret part of the government is kidnapping young demigods, for what purpose?" I asked.

"Well and this is just an educated guess, what if Coeus is working for the government and has convinced them that we are some secret weapon of terrorists?" Annabeth said.

"You mean like genetically engineered weapons of mass destruction." Nico said. Everyone ignored the conspiracy theorist among us.

"So their capturing kids to experiment on them." Thalia asked clearly disgusted by the thought.

"It would make sense for someone as smart as Coeus to get help from not only an unsuspected ally, but one with immense resources like the U.S. government." Annabeth said.

"Well, clearly they're working together to capture demigods, no matter the reasoning or how Coeus convinced the government we have to free those young heroes." Percy said.

"Agreed" Thalia, Nico and Annabeth said at the same time.

"Annabeth did you finish your plan?" I asked.

"Yes, it's simple actually. I'm going to put on my invisibility cap and wait until someone leaves the castle. Then sneak in. I will make my way to the top of the south wall, knock out and tie up each guard before I send a rope over the wall for you to climb up. Since there are three guards on the south wall each of you will wear a uniform so you can sneak in unsuspected. I will use my invisibility to locate the captured demigods. After that I still haven't figure out the escape, but it will come to me." Annabeth said.

"Alright that sounds good." Thalia said.

Thalia and Nico walked over to a tree to wait and I followed Annabeth to the edge of the woods. I took her hand and said, "Be careful wise girl."

"I will, don't worry." Annabeth said as she released my hand and put on her invisibility cap and disappeared.

**Annabeth's POV**

It's so cute of Percy to be worried, but I don't have time to discuss romance I have to get the job done. I ran to the entrance of the castle. The castle doors were made of steel and had to be at least three inches thick and fifteen feet tall. I waited by the wall for about an hour until I heard metal moving and the sound of locks clicking. Suddenly the large door opened a car drove out. I only saw one person in the vehicle and I didn't see any demigods. Before the door could close I ran inside the castle. The inside of the castle was lit by several sconces on the walls. There was a large courtyard in the middle of the castle adjacent to a large stone structure that was most likely the keep. The walls ran around the keep and courtyard. The walls had to be thirty feet wide and I assumed they were full of rooms and passageways. I looked toward the south wall and I saw a large stone staircase that clearly led to the top of the wall. I ran up the stair case until I reached the top of the wall. There were three towers along this wall. One tower on each corner and a central tower near the staircase. I ran into the central tower and waited for one of the guards to enter. As soon as the guard entered I hit him over the head with a large rock that I found on the floor. I used my rope to tie him up and I placed him inside a utility close until Percy and the others arrived. I looked outside of the tower toward the southeast tower. I waited for the guard to go into the tower and then I ran for it. As I reached the southeast tower the guard began to walk out I close lined the guard around the throat knocking him to ground then I kicked him in the head and he landed on the ground unconscious. Like the first guard I tied him up in a utility closet. I ran back down to the central tower again and looked for the third guard. As soon as that guard walked into the southwest tower I ran toward that tower. Again as I reached the tower the guard walked out, but stopped before I could close line him. He turned and walked back inside the tower. I followed him until I saw him pick up a mug of coffee. As he lifted the cup to drink and tilted his head back I punched him in the side of the head, he spilled his hot coffee all over his face, before he could scream I kicked him in the head and he hit the floor unconscious. I tied him up in the nearest closet.

I ran outside of the tower and looked over the wall. I saw the woods below. I grabbed the remaining portion of rope and threw it over the side. I saw Percy, Thalia and Nico run out of the woods as the rope hit the ground below. All three grabbed the rope and began to climb. After about twenty minutes Percy climbed over the wall last. Each one of them ran to one of the three towers and undressed the guards. They all three came out a few minutes later dressed in the all black combat uniforms.

Three new guards came up onto the wall a few minutes later and I heard them talk to my team mates. Then I saw Percy, Thalia and Nico exit each of their towers and walk down the steps. I followed them as they made they're way to the courtyard below. I whispered, "Head to the keep."

We all walked to the keep and entered. The walls were an off-white color with overhead lights centered in the ceiling every fifty feet. We were in a hallway, Percy and the others walked down the hallway, I followed them. As we reached the end of the hallway I saw a door. There were no other doors that I could see. Percy slowly opened the door. The room was dark inside, but I didn't sense that anyone was inside. We all entered the room and the door abruptly closed behind us. Suddenly, the lights came on and standing in front of us was a man in a dark suit. He had a bald head and was about six feet in height.

"You may take off your disguises now children of the three." The man said. I was stunned who was this guy and how did he know us?

"I'm sure your asking yourselves who is this guy and how did he recognize us behind our disguises?" The man said.

"Well, I'm Coeus and I've been expecting you three to arrive. We have cameras that look down the exterior of the walls at all times just to be sure no one tries to climb up. Ah, excuse my manners, Ms. Chase you can take off your cap now. We know you're in here." Coeus said. I was stunned how did he know I was here?

"Well, we have cameras in the towers as well Ms. Chase and since you're the only demigod that I know of with an invisibility cap it has to be you." Coeus said.

I took off my cap and glared daggers at this titan piece of garbage. "Where are the kids you've captured?" I yelled.

"Straight to the point, I like that. Don't worry you all will be joining the others soon." Coeus said.

"How are you going to stop the four of us by yourself?" Thalia asked with venom in her voice.

"Oh, Thalia Grace is it, I won't be stopping you, they will." Coeus pointed to the walls as more lights came on. Surrounding us on a platform extending from the walls were about ten soldiers dressed in black. Each was carrying a weird looking rifle it almost looked like something out of star wars.

Thalia's eyes glowed in anger and I could feel the electricity in the room, but before she could attack I heard something, actually several somethings fly through the air. Suddenly I saw Thalia stiffen as if something hit her and then she fell backwards. Nico grabbed her before she hit the ground, then I saw them. Sticking out of her forearm, her shoulder and her leg were darts, tranquilizer darts. She was out like a light. Nico was mad, I saw him look around us and then I felt the ground shake and several large boulders flew out of the ground and stood around us. He was trying to protect us from the tranquilizer darts. More darts sailed through the air, but they bounced helplessly off the rocks. I saw Coeus run for a door and I picked up a rock on the ground and threw it at him. It hit him straight in the back of the head and he fell to the ground hard. It wouldn't keep him down for very long, I knew. We were surrounded with no way out. The enemy knew this and the guards jumped from the platform and began to advance toward us. We were beat more guards came through the door near Coeus. We were surrounded and outnumbered five to one. Then I remembered the prophecy _One led by wisdom bested, _now I understood what that meant. We were beat and I couldn't think of a way out of it. I looked at Percy, he was helping Nico with Thalia. I tried to think of a way out and I knew I could escape with my cap, but that meant leaving Percy and the others, I couldn't do that. What in hades are we going to do? Thats all I could think, we're so screwed.

_**A little cliff hanger, hope you enjoyed this chapter.**_


	11. The Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 11: The Rescue

**Percy's POV**

The look on Annabeth's face told me everything, she knew that she could use her cap to become invisible, but she wouldn't leave the rest of us. She was stuck and we were all in big trouble. I knew what I had to do, I had to use all of my power. I closed my eyes and concentrated like Theseus taught me, I pictured myself at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, I felt the pressure and I made my skin, my muscles and bones strong enough to survive the pressure. When I opened my eyes I noticed that Nico was lying next to Thalia, he was unconscious then I realized why. He had four darts sticking out of his body, he had been tranquilized, enough to take down a charging rhinocerous. I looked for Annabeth and then I felt the darts fly through the air, I blocked three of them, but one hit its mark. I saw Annabeth's eyes widen in surprise as a dart stuck out of her shoulder. She reached up and pulled it out, but it was too late. She was conscious, but she could barely move now.

I was mad, incredibly so. I stood up and walked out from behind the large boulders and was immediately hit by darts. They bounced off my arms, legs and chest. My skin was now too tough for the darts to pierce it. The guard's eyes grew big with surprise they threw their rifles down and attacked me in hand to hand combat. Three guards ran at me at one time, I was too fast. I dodged their blows and used the martial arts moves that Theseus had taught me. I dodged one blow and then struck forward I hit the first guard in the throat and then kicked him in the chest so hard that he flew 20 feet across the room into another guard. They both crumpled to the floor unconscious and broken. The other two guards tried to hit me with their night sticks, but the sticks broke as soon as they hit my tough hide. I dove straight for the two guards and grabbed each one around the throat I lifted them off the ground quickly and slammed their heads together. I heard a sickening crack as their skulls collided. I threw their limp bodies across the room and took out two more guards. In a matter of ten seconds I had knocked out six of the twenty guards in the room.

The remaining fourteen guards tried to run for the exits. I beat two of them to the door we entered. I kicked the first one in the knee and he hit the ground hard. I did a spin kick on the second guard hitting him squarely in the diaphragm knocking the wind out of him. Then I punched each one of them in the face knocking both of them out cold. Eight guards had made it through the door before I could reach the final four. I jumped through the air and landed sideways knocking all four of them to the ground. I grabbed the two nearest me and cracked their heads together. The other two held their pistols towards me and before they could fire I made the ground shake with a thunderous earthquake. They both dropped their pistols. I ran to the first guard and crushed him against the wall making and indention in the stone wall. The last guard tried to run again, but I tripped him. He landed faced down on the concrete floor. He slowly began to move and I leisurely walked over and kicked him in the head, he was out cold.

The eight guards that left came back in holding their assault rifles. They aimed their rifles at me, but before they could shoot I ran at full speed to Coeus. He was kneeling on the floor touching the back of his head. He wasn't much of a fighter I thought if a rock to the back of the head could hurt him so much and then I realized that it wasn't a rock that Annabeth had thrown, it was a piece of celestial bronze ore, what was that doing here? I didn't have time to figure that out, I grabbed Coeus and I held him in front of me like a shield. The guards approached me, but were afraid that I would hurt their leader. Before they could react I caused another earthquake sending guards bouncing into each other. Shots were fired and three of the eight guards dropped to ground with gunshot wounds to the head. The others were protected by their body armor. That left five guards to deal with. Suddenly something hit me in the back and then I felt a huge surge of pain and fire throughout my body. I didn't know what happened until I turned around and saw a guard who must of have snuck in from the other door that was behind me. The guard was holding a large taser rifle, I dropped Coeus hard to the ground and slowly walked toward the guard, he hit me with another taser blast and I fell to my knees. I crawled toward the guard and with one more blast of the taser I hit the floor unconscious.

**Annabeth's POV**

I couldn't move and I could barely see, I heard Percy fighting the guards and then I saw him. Percy was holding Croeus around the throat and then a huge earthquake hit. I knew it must have been Percy, then I heard the gun shots. I saw several guards hit the floor, but Percy seemed unharmed. Then I saw Percy's eyes glow and he stiffened as if hit by something. He dropped Coeus to the ground. Percy turned around and then I could see what happened. There was a guard with a taser rifle and he had fired at Percy. I could see the taser lines extend from the gun to Percy's body. Percy was hit with another blast and he fell to his knees. Then a third blast hit and Percy landed hard on the ground, I could tell he was out cold. Now I knew we had lost. A guard came over to me and pointed a gun at me, I slowly and weakly raised my hands in surrender.

"Good, this son of Poseidon is very strong!" Coeus said.

The guards stopped what they were doing and saluted Coeus. Then I saw four more guards enter the room

"You four!" Coeus yelled. The four guards ran over to him.

"Take our guests to the research facility and lock them in separate detention facilities. Tell Dr. Carson when you see him that he has new subjects, he should be pleased." Coeus said. The four guards came over and carried the others away. One of the guards helped me to my feet and I limped out of the room.

We walked out the door that Coeus entered through, on the wall was a sign with an arrow it said research facility. We walked about fifty yards until we came to a large freight elevator. The elevator said research facility s well, one of the guards pushed the button for the elevator and the doors opened quickly. The guards carried us into the elevator, the only button on the display said research and so one of the guards hit the button. We went down one floor and exited into at first a dark and wet room. One of the guards turned on a flashlight and then I recognized this place. It was a dungeon, like one out of medieval times. The guards moved us forward and we walked through a door on the far wall. As we entered my perspective and everything else changed. The room was a bright white, the walls and floors were white. We walked forward and my heart stopped, I saw demigods in hospital beds, demigods in restraints and demigods on metal tables. Researchers in contamination suits were in these glass enclosed rooms. Then I saw what they were doing. They were injecting substances into the demigods or taking blood samples. Then I realized what the metal tables were for these were autopsy tables. Then I saw one researcher cut into a corpse of a demigod and start to remove organs and such. I almost puked then and there. I couldn't believe it, they were experimenting on these kids and killing them. It was the most horrible thing I had ever seen and that's saying a lot. We continued to walk through this horror show until Thalia was placed in a glass cell, then Nico was placed in the next one, Percy in the one following that and then I was forcibly placed in the last cell.

After I was placed in the cell, I noticed that the guards who transported us were talking or arguing. I wasn't sure what was going on unless they were arguing about which one of us they wanted to experiment on next. Then I noticed that the guards walked over to the main electrical panel. Three of the guards hovered around one guard who had opened the panel and was investigating. Then I saw sparks fly and the lights in the research facility went out. No alarms sounded I wasn't sure what happened, then the door to my cell opened and a guard walked in. I tried to stand and I was barely able to. Then the emergency lights must have kicked in because my cell was illuminated again although the light was much dimmer.

"Leave me alone you are monsters." I yelled.

"No, I'm not." The guard said, that voice is so familiar I thought.

"Clarisse!" I said urgently

The guard took off the ski mask and low and behold it was Clarisse LaRue.

"Clarisse, how?" I asked. She just looked at me and smiled.

"Ask the Stolls after this mess is over, they're full of surprises." Clarisse said.

Clarisse walked over and handed me a square of ambrosia, as I ate it I felt my strength return and I could walk on my own now. We walked out of my cell and I saw the three other guards helping my team. I instinctively ran to Percy, he was still out cold and then I saw a water pitcher on the ground near the sink in his cell. I filled the pitcher and threw it on Percy's face. He suddenly awoke like he was hit with a cattle prod.

"What happened?" Percy asked, I just smiled and said, "I'll tell you later."

Percy stood and I was surprised that he could walk so easily. I saw Thalia and Nico walk out of their cells. They looked much better, I suppose they had their ambrosia as well. Then Connor Stoll ran over to us and he looked angry and sad.

"These are all of the demigods here." Connor said.

"That can't be right, we're missing around one hundred." I said, then the realization hit me.

"You mean the only ones left alive." I said as I felt my stomach turn into a knot.

"How many?" Clarisse asked.

"About thirty." Travis said, I could tell that he felt sick as well.

"We need to get them out of here, they're all in bad shape." Will Solace said as he walked up next to Clarisse.

"What were they doing here with these experiments." Nico said.

"I looked through a laptop, they were trying to duplicate the demigods abilities like reflexes, etc. They wanted to make some type of super soldier. They were particularly interested in demigods with special powers." Connor said.

"Like us, you mean." Thalia said. I could tell by the look on her face that she was really pissed.

"I'm afraid so." Connor stated.

"We need to get them out of here, Connor can your team get them to the Aethra?" Percy asked.

"We need more help that just the four of us." Connor said.

"We'll help you Connor." I said as I gave Percy a strange look.

"I'm not going." Percy said.

"What, I'm ordering you to help us, you have to go." I said stunned.

"Don't you all see, someone has to stop this research, if they get this information back to their bases to their bosses. They will keep coming after demigods or worse our families." Percy said.

"You can't destroy this place by yourself." I said angrily.

"Yes, I can. I'm the only one with enough power to do it, besides we're next to the sea and in direct contact with bedrock. I can use all of my powers to bring this place down and end this nightmare." Percy said.

I just stared at him, the others had walked away by then just leaving the two of us.

"Percy, I can't lose you, please don't do this." I said pleadingly.

"You know what I'm doing needs to be done, I can't stand back and leave this place intact." Percy said, my mind told me he was right, but my heart said don't let him do this.

As usual my mind won especially during a quest. "We'll help evacuate the demigods, please be careful." I said, I composed myself and walked to the others.

"Besides you need a diversion to get them out of here." Percy said as he closed his eyes and we could all feel the power within him surge forward, his skin color changed to a darker tan and when he opened his eyes, they were glowing as if the water within his body glowed with power. Then I realized the source of his power. Our bodies are made of eighty percent water, salt water. Percy could use the water within his body to increase his strength, durability, et. I didn't have any more time to think about it as Percy ran through the door knocking out the five researchers that were huddled by the door in fear.

The rest of us helped the remaining demigods out of their restraints. We all made it out to the dungeon level and then I heard the alarm from the castle above, Percy was fighting them clearly. I could feel the castle shake and I could hear a hurricane outside. I saw an emergency escape tunnel just behind the elevator.

"We'll use that." I said.

I opened the door to the tunnel and flipped on the emergency light switch, dim lights illuminated the concrete walled tunnel. We made our way through the tunnel slowly as we assisted the thirty rescued demigods. It took us several minutes to reach the outside door of the tunnel. I swung the door open and we were hit by a sudden blast of wind. I walked outside with the others behind me and I saw it. A huge storm hovering over the castle. The winds were incredibly strong, then I felt the ground shake and then I looked over to the edge of the cliff near the east wall of the castle. I could see waves hitting the top of the cliff. That was incredible, these waves had to be over fifty feet tall. Percy was using a lot of power. I cleared my mind of worry and we ran toward the gate of the castle.

"What about the electric fence?" I asked.

"Its disabled, I knocked out power to the whole facility including the backups." Travis said proudly.

Before I could say anything else Connor was cutting a huge whole in the fence.

"There's the camp van." Travis said as we ran towards the vehicle.

"Can this thing hold this may people?" I asked.

"We can hold thirty maybe thirty four." Travis said.

"Don't worry you all go. Thalia, Nico and I have other transportation." I gave Connor the directions to the ship and the van sped off toward that direction.

"Nico!" I yelled.

"I know shadow travel" Nico said.

Thalia and I held onto his shoulder as we ran toward a shadow and disappeared. We reappeared out of the shadow of a large tree near the beach. We ran to the zodiac, pushed it into the water and made our way to the ship. When we got aboard I lowered the remaining two zodiacs to the water. Each one of us drove a zodiac toward shore as the others approached the beach with the rescued demigods. It took us two trips, but we finally had everyone aboard.

We watched in amazement at the storm and the huge waves that now poured over the cliff near the castle. Percy was still going strong, I just prayed that he would make it back to me.

**Percy's POV**

I made it to the main courtyard on the first level of the castle. I was standing outside and I could see the storm I created overhead. The water in the clouds and the winds were incredibly strong now. I had made a category five hurricane appear over the castle. The few remaining guards that were left tried to attack me, but I used the wind and a powerful earthquake to knock them to the ground. Then I used the rain that came down as weapons. I froze the water into long ice spears and threw them at the remaining guards. After the last guard fell to the ground with a huge ice spear sticking out of his chest. I focused on the structure of the castle. I caused a huge earthquake that shifted the foundations of the castle. I felt the sea below the cliff just outside the castle, I felt myself pull the sea toward the top of the cliff and then sea water began to pour over the side of the castle walls.

"Stop this Jackson!" Coeus yelled as he held a celestial bronze spear in his hand.

"I won't are you prepared to stop me." I yelled.

"You are no match one on one in combat with a titan." Coeus said.

"I fought titans before and believe me they were tougher than you." I said. That pissed him off his face turned red with rage and he charged me. I moved too quickly for him and I tripped him as I moved out of the way of his attack. He fell to the ground and his spear slid across the courtyard and fell into a large fissure in the ground that my last earthquake had opened up. Coeus charged me and we both grabbed each others arms and struggled. Then a great realization occurred to me. I could feel the water within my body and the power it gave me and then I realized that I could feel Coeus blood or at least the part of his blood with water in it. What did Theseus say, that gods and titans had about twenty percent water in their blood? I focused on the water within Coeus's blood and then I felt the connection. I think Coeus did as well as he let go of me with his eyes wide in surprise.

"How are you doing that?" He yelled.

"Its time to treat you like an experiment." I said angrily.

I focused on the water and then I urged the water to rise in temperature. I continued to increase the temperature of the water in Coeus's blood until I saw steam come of his skin. He was screaming in agony now as his skin began to rupture and he began to bleed profusely. He tried to run away from me, but I stood in his way and then a large wave came over the castle wall and I willed it to take Coeus over the side and into the sea. I mentally sent a prayer to my father to take care of the titan and I felt my father's reply, _My pleasure son!_

I changed my focus back to the foundations of the structure and then the cliff itself. I used the waves to eat away at the cliff at an incredible pace. Then I shook the castle with another huge earthquake. I could feel the castle move closer to the edge of the cliff and I felt the waves erode the cliff at an ever increasing rate. The use of this much power was finally hitting me, I was getting tired. I focused all my remaining strength into the final earthquake and wave. I released the energy and the ground shook with an incredible force the castle walls began to collapse and I felt the castle lean over the edge of the cliff. Then the last giant wave clashed against the cliff, the remaining foundation of the castle was washed away and then felt the remains of the castle descend over the cliff. As the remains of the castle and myself fell over the cliff and descended to the sea below I fell to my knees exhausted. I knew I wouldn't survive this battle now. I had sacrificed myself in accordance with the prophecy.

"I'm sorry Annabeth." I said, they were my final words as I fell into blackness, but before I closed my eyes I thought I saw a bright light, but I couldn't think about it I was too exhausted.

_**Another cliff hanger, I hope this one was better than the last.**_


	12. The Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 12: The Aftermath

**Annabeth's POV**

We had raised the anchor as Percy had taught us and set sail for the cliff. As we approached we noticed even from our distance out at sea the waves rushing over the cliff and the shaking of the cliffs themselves.

"Look the castle is moving to the edge of the cliff." I said in amazement.

Everyone just stood on the deck of the ship looking at the scene unfold in front of us and then with a final shaking of the cliff and the onslaught of a huge wave the castle slipped over the edge of the cliff and crashed into the sea below. A huge explosion filled the night sky and debris flew through the air so far that it fell only a few yards from the ship. Everyone was stunned and all I could say was, "Percy!"

Everyone turned to me, I had tears pouring down my cheeks. I saw the tears on my friends faces as well. Suddenly a bright light shown in front of us and when the light dissolved standing before us was Theseus and in his arms was Percy. My heart almost jumped out of my chest when I saw him. Then Theseus laid Percy on the deck and said, "I don't feel a pulse." Will Solace ran over to Percy and knelt down beside him, he tried many different prayers, chants and potions, but nothing seemed to work. I looked at Nico and he realized what I was asking.

"His spirit still resides within him, but it is slowly slipping away. We have to do something soon to restart his heart." Nico said gravely.

"Do we have a defibrillator onboard?" I yelled.

"No, its on order." Theseus said dejectedly.

My mind raced I couldn't think straight and then I remembered Percy's training lessons. I centered myself and focused, then it hit me. The last line of the prophecy it said.

_Wisdom restores with the power of three_

An idea suddenly flashed into my brain.

"Theseus, use your mental link with Percy try to keep his spirit from slipping away." I said. Theseus nodded in acknowledgment.

"Nico use your power over rock to ground Percy's body." I said.

"I don't know how to do that." Nico said.

"Use the focus techniques Percy taught us, please try." I yelled.

"Alright, I'll try." Nico said anxiously.

"Thals place your hands over Percy's heart here." I said as I grabbed Thalia's hands and placed them over Percy's heart.

'Now concentrate on a low level electrical charge direct the charge to your hands and then release into Percy's chest." I said.

"I.. I.. I.. don't know if I can." Thalia said nervously.

"You have to try or he's dead, please. Use the focus techniques I know you can do it." I said anxiously.

"OK" Thalia said.

At first I didn't know if it would work. Will Solace came over to help monitor Percy while they tried. The first jolt of electricity surged from Thalia into Percy, his body jerked in response. Will shook his head, still no pulse.

"Again" I yelled.

Thalia concentrated again and then let out another blast of electricity from her hands into Percy's chest. His body jerked up even more this time and then he gasped for air. His eyes opened for a moment and then closed in exhaustion. I looked at Will.

"His hearts beating weakly, but he's alive. He's back from the brink. I looked at Nico.

"Yes, his life force is returning." Nico yelled.

I looked at Thalia and she sat backwards against the bulkhead of the ship exhausted.

Suddenly, Theseus grabbed me into a hug, I hugged him back in response. Then he pushed me forward with his arms to look at me.

"You did it my dear. Thank you!" Theseus said as I could see the relief in his eyes.

I looked around and said, "No, we did it." I was so happy, but I was stunned, it worked and it fulfilled the last of the prophecy. I looked at Percy sleeping on the deck of the ship and couldn't help but smile he was alive, thank the gods I thought.

Theseus, Nico and Will helped carry Percy down below to one of the crew quarters to rest. I sat on the couch at the controls with Thalia next to me.

"Thals you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm tired that took a lot out of me." Thalia said.

"Thank you for trying and even more for succeeding." I said as I gave her a big hug.

"Percy's one of my best friends I couldn't let him die saving our butts. The embarrassment would have killed me." Thalia said with a smile.

Theseus walked back up and stood in front of us.

"Mind if I join you?" Theseus asked.

"No, sir!" Thalia and I said at the same time. Theseus just smiled and sat between us.

"You both can rest easy Percy is doing fine. He burnt himself out pretty bad, but he'll recover. I warned him before he left, but you know my little brother when it comes to saving those he cares about he'll always put his safety last." Theseus said.

"Sounds like his big brother too." Thalia said with a smile.

"Well maybe a little." Theseus said as he laughed quietly.

"I guess you know about what they were doing in that castle?" Thalia asked.

"Yes, Will and Nico informed me. It certainly is terrible. I will inform the other gods, they will be incredibly upset by this of course. Many of they're children dead and the remaining thirty most likely scarred for life. Apollo and his children will be incredibly busy with the psychological ramifications of this abuse." Theseus said.

"You warned Percy before the quest?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, I warned him that the full use of his powers could burn him out. You see he is extremely dehydrated. Will has him on an I.V. giving him plenty of fluids." Theseus said.

"So he does use the water in his body to increase his strength?" I asked.

"Clever as always my dear, yes as a son of Poseidon we can use not only the water around us to increase our power and to use in battle, but we also use the water within our bodies." Theseus said.

"That's so cool." Thalia said.

"It can be, but it is also very dangerous as we have just seen." Theseus said.

"I know it is, the way he could make hurricanes, tidal waves and earthquakes at the same time, that's quite impressive. Plus he was still able to increase the strength and durability of his muscles, skin and bones." I said.

"That is impressive, but the most dangerous thing he did was learn a technique that I hadn't taught him." Theseus said looking quite serious.

"What technique is that?" I asked nervously.

"He defeated Coeus by using the water within the titan's blood. I informed Percy that his power over these techniques were stronger than mine or in fact our fathers because as a demigod he has over eighty percent of his body made up by water. A titan or a god is typically around twenty percent. I guess in the heat of battle he used the water in Coeus body to defeat him. He then sent Coeus over the cliff into the sea, he's now in my father's custody. Poseidon told me that Coeus is in pretty bad shape and I assume Percy figured out how to use this technique." Theseus said.

Thalia and I just looked at him with our mouths open.

"If he could do that to a titan, what could he do to a demigod or human?" I asked not really wanting an answer.

"I think you can guess my dear, he could tear a demigod or human to pieces with this technique. He could destroy entire armies with this power." Theseus said gravely.

Thalia and I were frozen, I could tell by the look on her face that this information worried her incredibly. I was worried too, if he got angry and he couldn't control himself he could really hurt someone. Then I thought, Theseus knows this power.

"Theseus you can do this as well can't you?" I asked.

"Yes, the power is not as strong as it was when I was a demigod, but yes I can do it." Theseus said.

"Percy is incredibly dangerous then?" Thalia said, I could tell that it was extremely hard for her to say that about one of her closest friends.

"I'm afraid so and there will be consequences unless he can be fully trained to control this ability." Theseus said reluctantly.

"What do you mean by consequences and training?" I asked nervously.

"For one the council may want him destroyed." Theseus said sadly.

"They can't do that he saved them so many times." I said angrily.

"My dear, I won't let that happen, but that's why the training is so important." Theseus said.

"You act like this training is pretty tough." Thalia said.

"It's more than tough, it is a year of training away from humans, he would go to Poseidon's palace and would have to be trained by Poseidon, Triton and myself. Together we can help him control his powers fully so that emotional outbursts do not set them off." Theseus said sadly as he looked at me.

"He would have to leave for a year." I said not believing what I heard.

"Yes, and he could not come to visit, he cannot have any contact with demigods or humans, its too dangerous." Theseus said.

"He'll miss his first year of college." Thalia said.

"Yes, he will, Athena and Sally are already talking to the school about Percy postponing entry, they're making up a medical excuse with a little help from Hermes." Theseus said.

"He will be crushed, he's looking forward to his first year." I said sadly, knowing what else his departure would mean.

"There is no other choice my dear, I'm so sorry." Theseus said as he gave me a hug.

"Have you told him yet?" I asked.

"No, I will wait until he's feeling better. Poseidon, Athena and I want to tell him." Theseus said.

"He will hate you!" I said feeling the anger within me grow. I couldn't think what life would be like without him for a year.

"He won't be the only one who will hate us, but they'll get over it I hope." Theseus said as he stood up and walked to the bow of the ship. Thalia was quiet for a minute and then she said, "He's talking about you." Thalia said.

"I don't hate anybody." I said.

"Come on. You don't fool me I see the anger in your eyes, your mad because he will have to be away from you for a year. We both know that, but you are too smart to blame them, they're just doing what's best for him." Thalia said reassuringly. I knew she was right, but I was too angry to think at the moment.

"I don't care." I said, lying of course.

"Can you take the controls?" I asked.

"Sure." Thalia said.

I got up and walked below. I walked into Percy's room and he was sleeping comfortably. I sat on the bunk bed across from the one Percy was sleeping in, he looked so peaceful now. I couldn't imagine not seeing his face or those beautiful sea green eyes for an entire year. I just put my head in my hands and cried. The emotions just flooded through me. I know Aphrodite had not part in this. This was all my emotions, my hurt. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore, I laid back on the bunk and cried myself to sleep. There had been too many up and down emotions today. I was exhausted and I just couldn't think anymore today. I dreamed of Percy and what life would be like without him, it was terrible!

_**More to come!**_


	13. Voyage Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 13: Voyage Home

**Annabeth's POV**

I awoke the next morning and then I remembered where I was I looked to my right and I saw Percy still asleep. I sat up and then I noticed my mom sitting in a chair between the two sets of bunk beds. I got up quickly and ran to her, I couldn't help it I missed her.

"Mom I missed you." I said as I hugged her. The relationship my mom and I had became much stronger over the last several years especially after Theseus had returned and they married. They were both so happy together and my mom had become very close with Percy, almost like a second mother to him. It's strange to think about how much had changed in just a few years.

"I know my dear." Athena said.

"Its not fair." I said, referring to Percy having to leave for a year.

"I know, please don't be mad at Theseus and I. We are only trying to protect Percy." Athena said.

"I was mad yesterday, but today I understand how hard this must be for both of you." I said sincerely.

"I didn't want you to be mad at us, Percy will be mad enough for the both of you, believe me." Athena said, I could tell she was concerned about Percy's reaction.

"Can I be there when you tell him?" I asked.

My mom looked at me with concern and then I could tell she was thinking about all of the potential hazards and consequences.

"I will talk to Theseus, but I think you should be there, it may help." Athena said with a smile.

Will Solace walked in, he stopped when he saw us.

"Sorry, I'll come back later." Will said.

"Will you can stay." I said as my mom nodded in agreement.

"I just need to check his I.V. Levels." Will said. He checked the levels and then felt Percy's pulse.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Much better, he should wake up today. His heart beat is much stronger and his intake of liquid has slowed so his dehydration has subsided. I'll check back in a few hours." Will said as he nodded to us and left.

"Mom, how long are you staying?" I asked.

"I spoke to Theseus earlier about what happened in Maine, Percy did one Hades of a job on that base and on Coeus." Athena said.

"He did, it was incredible!" I said.

"I imagine so, again his fatal flaw almost cost him his life, but also saved the day. He is so much like his brother. It almost scares me sometimes how similar they are." Athena said with a contemplative look on her face.

"Scare you, I thought you weren't scared of anything." I said.

"No, I'm scared of losing my children, Theseus and yes even Percy. He has become a very important part of my family just like Poseidon." Athena said with a bright smile.

"Theseus has really changed everyone's lives." I said.

"Mostly, for the better." Athena said with a sad look on her face.

"What do you mean mostly?" I asked curiously.

"Theseus would never admit this out loud, but he is scared that he has made Percy's life more dangerous not less." Athena said.

"The training that he thought would help Percy survive now threatens his life and those around him." I said, Athena nodded in agreement.

"I hope the training will work, if not, I don't want to even think of that now." Athena said, I could tell she was thinking of the consequences and they weren't good ones.

"How are the gods taking the news about all of the demigod deaths?" I asked.

Athena looked at the floor and I could tell this question made her very sad.

"Not well I'm afraid, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Dionysus and Apollo are all very upset, they're children were the ones who perished. The survivors are also very damaged I'm afraid. Apollo has already been on the ship this morning. He left before I came down here. He was crying, I think the mental damage to the children has gotten to him." Athena said.

"I wish we could have gotten there sooner." I said regretfully.

"No one blames any of you, you all stopped this nightmare and thanks to Percy we won't have to worry about it again. That's why all of the gods even Zeus want this training to work." Athena said.

"Good at least Zeus isn't out to kill Percy straight away." I said.

"He's not, actually and he won't admit this. He has a soft spot for our favorite hero here." Athena said as she pointed to Percy.

"Mom, when will he have to leave for the training?" I asked, I knew the answer, but I wanted my mom to tell me.

"I think you know, as soon as we tell him." Athena said sadly.

"I don't know if I can stand being without him for a year." I said.

"I know my dear, if Theseus left me now for that length I would feel terrible as well, but you know it must be done." Athena said.

"What if I forget him?" I said worriedly. My mom just looked at me like my question was the stupidest thing she ever heard.

"Annabeth you know that Percy is your soul mate, do you think you could forget him or are you worried that he will forget you?" Athena said.

"I'm worried that he will forget me." I said reluctantly.

"You know he won't, this is Percy remember." Athena said, she was right he was loyal to a fault, literally he would never forget and our love had been through worse.

"Mom, I didn't want to tell you this, but I think Percy would want you to know. I think the fight that we had at camp was spurred on by Aphrodite. I think she was in my head urging me to be jealous." I said.

"It wouldn't surprise me. She always wanted to give Theseus and I drama. I guess she's transferred that now to you and Percy. I will talk to her, such drama now in Percy's state could be extremely dangerous." Athena said.

"How far from camp are we now?" I asked.

"Not far, Theseus said that the ship should reach camp by early tomorrow morning." Athena said.

We were talking and then we heard a groan, we both turned toward Percy and his eyes opened slowly. They weren't the usual vibrant sea green, They were a dark green almost the color of a dark forest.

"Percy, your awake." I said, of course he's awake that's a dumb statement. Athena smiled at me, I guess she could sense my thoughts.

We both walked over to Percy and knelt next to his bed.

"Athena, Annabeth, how long?" Percy said in a weak voice.

"Almost a day and a half. How do you feel?" Athena asked.

"So tired, I thought I was gone for a moment there. What happened?" Percy asked.

"Get some rest seaweed brain, there will be plenty of time for questions after you rest, understand." I said demandingly.

"Yes, wise girl." Percy said as he tried to smile and then closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

Athena just smiled at me and gave me a hug.

"Come on let's leave Percy alone to sleep." Athena said as she stood up and I followed her lead. We walked out of the cabin and walked up on deck. Thalia and Nico were sitting at the table with the Stoll brothers. They all straightened up when they saw my mom.

"Lady Athena!" They all said at the same time. My mom smiled I knew she loved it when she surprised people.

"It's alright, mind if Annabeth and I join you?" Athena said, everyone gestured for us to sit.

"What were you four discussing?" I asked curiously.

"Connor was just telling us how they got into the castle." Nico said.

"Really, I would like to hear that as well." I said.

We all looked at Connor including my mother, who smiled when Connor and Travis looked at her uneasily.

"We waited outside the gate of the castle for someone to drive outside. A car drove out and we followed it until it came to a little convenience store about two miles down the road. The guard went into the restroom of the store and Travis and I went inside and took care of him. Then I dressed in his uniform and put on his ski mask, I also took his identification. I had everyone else get into the large trunk of the car. I drove back to the castle and they let us in pretty easy. Then once inside we took out three more guards and stole their uniforms. We waited until the fight was over and came into the room where you all were and we got lucky because Coeus ordered us to take you to the research facility." Connor said.

"How did you know where the research facility was?" I asked.

"That was pretty easy Travis hacked into their computer system from the outside, we had blueprints for the entire place." Connor said. Damn those two really were cunning.

"I guess we all underestimated you two, I know I did." Clarisse said as she walked in and bowed toward my mother.

"How did you get passed their camera system, it was pretty impressive." I said.

"It was alright, it was Honeywell 485CT73 camera system with computer operated detection system. However, it is susceptible to computer hacking and data splicing, it wasn't difficult to crack through their fire wall and loop the camera feed so that the cameras showed the same images over and over with the time stamp elapsing as normal." Travis said. I looked around the table and everyone's eyes were either large with surprise or completely lost in what Travis just said.

"You two do your father proud." Athena said shaking her head in admiration.

"Thank you Lady Athena, we try to keep up with every type of security system, our father always told us to be prepared." Connor said giving the boy scout salute. Everyone around the table started to laugh including my mom and Clarisse. These two clearly weren't boy scouts.

"Thank you both for helping rescue us as well as the others." I said, Thalia and Nico nodded in agreement.

"Your welcome Annabeth, sorry about taking the van, but with all our equipment in it we didn't have the room." Travis said looking down sadly.

"Well, Chiron, Theseus and Argus are still going to punish you." I said.

"I know, probably kitchen duty for a couple of months." Travis said.

"You left your equipment." Clarisse said.

"Yes, we had to in order to fit in all of the rescued demigods, its alright we can always get new equipment." Connor said hopefully.

"If you all will excuse me I need to speak with Theseus." Athena said as she stood up and walked to the control area, we all nodded as she walked away.

"How's Percy?" Thalia asked.

"He woke up for a little bit, but he's still really tired." I said, everyone nodded I could tell they were sad, I knew that everyone had heard about Percy needing to leave for a year.

Will Solace walked up from below deck and sat at the table he looked terrible.

"Will are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm tired that's all." Will said I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Nico asked.

"I will I just needed to come up here, it's too depressing down there." Will said.

"The rescued demigods are pretty messed up aren't they?" I asked.

"Yes, they have nightmares when they sleep, some are in shock they cannot speak at all, and others just walk around with no emotions, it's terrible what those bastards did to these little kids." Will said as he lowered his head in his hands. Clarisse stood up and placed her hand on Will's shoulder and said, "Will just be there for them, that's all you can do."

Will looked up at her and smiled. He understood that under that tough exterior and harsh attitude that Clarisse showed she was actually a very caring person.

"Thank you." Will said as he stood up and walked back downstairs to get some rest.

We stayed at the table talking for hours until it was early evening. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Theseus and Athena remained at the controls. They were talking quietly. The rest of us sat at the table talking about what we would do for the rest of camp and how much fun we would have now that the quest was over. I didn't want to tell them that Percy would have to leave well before the completion of summer. His last summer as a camper would end way too soon. Then we heard someone walk upstairs, you could hear some kind of metal cane or pole hit the wooden stairs as they walked. We looked over at the stairs curiously and then I saw him. It was Percy dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt carrying his I.V. Pole. His face and skin were pale in color and his muscles looked incredibly fatigued. He was slouched over as if the wait of the world was on his shoulders. Everyone was stunned to see him walking. Theseus and Athena ran over to him to make sure he was alright.

"Percy you shouldn't be out of bed, you're still too weak." Theseus said as he and Athena tried to help Percy up the remaining few stairs.

"I can't sleep anymore I needed get out of that bed." Percy said softly, I could hear the fatigue in his voice.

Athena and Theseus helped Percy over to the table and helped him sit down. Everyone smiled when Percy took his seat.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Percy said still in that quiet voice that was still so unlike him.

"We're all doing well seaweed brain." I said with a smile. Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.

Percy just looked at me and smiled, he still looked so tired and his eyes were still like before, so dark and not the bright green glowing eyes that he normally had.

"You look like crap Jackson!" Clarisse said with a wry smile. Percy just looked at her and his eyes lit up a little at her comment.

"I feel worse than I look." Percy said as he gave Clarisse his crooked smile that I loved. Clarisse just stared at him and then smiled brightly. We all laughed at that. By then Theseus and Athena walked back over to the controls and continued their conversation.

Percy closed his eyes and we all thought that he fell asleep.

"Percy!" I said trying not to startle him awake.

"He's not asleep." Theseus said as he and Athena walked over to the table.

"Whats wrong?" Thalia asked.

"He's talking to his friends." Theseus said with a smile.

"What friends?" Nico asked. Theseus motioned for us to walk out onto the open deck of the ship and all around us you could see swarms of sea creatures around the ship. Theseus smiled brightly and I saw my mother smile next to him as she laced her arm through his. There were whales, dolphins, seals, sea otters, fish and squid all around the ship, jumping in and out of our wake.

"It's incredible!" I said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to hear what they are saying?" Theseus asked.

"You can do that?" I asked. I saw my mom smile.

"He's a god and a son of Poseidon, of course he can." Athena said.

Theseus's eyes began to glow and then I felt my eyes glow as well. I saw the others eyes glow and then when the feeling subsided I started to hear voices. Many voices, some loud some soft. It was like a chorus singing in my head.

"This is what it's like to hear them?" I asked.

"Yes, amazing isn't it?" Thesues asked.

We all nodded in amazement. Then a sea creature surfaced nearby the ship it was a hippocampus and not any ordinary one, it was Rainbow.

_Hello, lord!_

"Hello, my friend thank you for summoning so many." Theseus said.

_I had to turn many away I didn't want any accidents. When I told them it was to help young Lord Perseus everyone wanted to come._

Percy walked out on deck and then Rainbow saw him.

_We have come to heal you lord._

Percy opened his eyes and he smiled brightly. He was very happy, he had tears in his eyes.

"Thank you, my friend, thank you to everyone." Percy said a little louder than he had spoken earlier.

Theseus walked over to Percy with Athena. They removed his I.V., then they led him to the side of the ship.

"Are you ready, brother?" Theseus asked.

"Yes!" Percy said. At that Theseus and Athena helped Percy onto Rainbow's back and then all of the sea creatures sank beneath the waves. Rainbow followed them under the sea.

"Let's look at the underwater camera." I said as I raced to the controls. I flipped on the camera and the small display extended out of the control panel. As the display came on you could see the back of the ship, but there was no sign of Percy.

Then a few minutes later I could see Percy on the back of Rainbow. They were about thirty yards behind the ship. Then they were surrounded by sea creatures, hundreds of them. Then the sea creatures began to glow with a blue-green light including Rainbow and then something amazing happened. The light from the sea creatures moved from their bodies onto Percy, at first Percy glowed slightly and then the light around him grew larger and brighter, until the video screen shut off. I guess the power was too great for the camera. We waited for several minutes and then something erupted from the sea behind us and landed on the aft deck of the ship. It was Percy, he was completely dry, but that wasn't the strange part. He was no longer pale, but his skin was tanned as normal, his muscles looked incredibly toned and then he raised his head. He no longer looked tired, his features were strong and he had a bright beautiful smile, but what sent a shiver of excitement down my spine were his eyes. His eyes glowed like they never did before. They were a green-blue color as the sea, but shined like the sun itself were behind them. Everyone stood there speechless, even my mom and Theseus. The sea creatures had all left by now, no more singing of sea life in my head. Percy looked straight at me and smiled. I ran to him at full speed and jumped into his arms.

"So now you hug me." Percy said.

I pulled away from him and blushed intensely.

"I didn't want to hurt you in your weakened state." I said.

"Your forgiven, wise girl." Percy said as he put his arm around my waist. Everyone else ran over and greeted him.

"We're glad your alright now kelp head." Thalia said.

"So am I pine cone face." Percy said.

"Perc it's good to have you well again." Nico said.

"Good to be well dead boy." Percy acknowledged.

The greetings and camaraderie continued for a few more minutes until Theseus cleared his throat and everyone stopped and looked toward him.

"Now that the antics are out of the way. I think Percy and Annabeth may want to be alone for awhile." Theseus said as he and Athena ushered our friends into the control room.

"I'm so glad they left, remind me to thank Theseus later." I said happily.

"I will." Percy said as he held me close. We sat at the aft of the ship looking out over the ocean. The sun was now low in the sky and light cascaded over the water causing light to glow off of the sea. It was beautiful. The sound of the ship cutting through the water was hypnotic, Percy and I stayed there for a long while just holding each other.

"Wise girl, I love you." Percy said.

"I love you too, seaweed brain." I said happily. I tried to block out what I knew was coming tomorrow when we arrived at camp. All I wanted to think about was Percy and how much I loved him, thats all that mattered.

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come.**_


	14. Anger and Sadness

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 14: Anger and Sadness

**Percy's POV**

I awoke the next morning with the smell of freshly made waffles. I sat up on the deck and looked toward the cabin of the ship. I walked toward the entrance and there at the table was Annabeth, Theseus and Athena. A stack of waffles sat on the table, everyone smiled when they saw me.

"It didn't take long for the waffles to wake you, seaweed brain." Annabeth said.

"They smell great, I'm terribly hungry." I said.

"I'm sure you are, you haven't eaten for a couple of days." Theseus said.

I sat down across from Annabeth and grabbed a plate full of waffles and started to dig in.

"These are so good." I said. Everyone smiled at me as I ate my fill.

"Wow, you ate that whole plate of waffles." Annabeth said.

"I know I was so hungry." I said.

"You're still looking well. How do you feel?" Athena asked.

"Much better I still don't remember that much about what happened to me." I said.

"That's to be expected you had a very serious trauma, your memories will come back soon enough don't worry." Theseus said.

I nodded and tried to change the subject, I didn't want to dwell on what happened. I had a bad feeling about that fight and I didn't want to think about it.

"It's going to be so great to get back to camp. I can't wait to start training campers how to sail." I said. Theseus just looked at me and nodded. Athena smiled at me and Annabeth just looked at me like she didn't hear what I said. I guess everybody is lost in their own thoughts, so I didn't make a big deal of it.

"What happens to the rescued campers when we arrive?" I asked. Everyone stopped what they were doing when I asked.

"Well, I think they'll be sent to the infirmary for checkups and some may have to stay there awhile. Many of the kids are traumatized as should be expected considering the ordeal they suffered." Theseus said.

"The gods who are these children's parents will certainly be involved in their treatment. The council is pretty upset about how Coeus used the government to assist him in his actions." Athena said.

When Athena said the name Coeus a number of images and feelings flashed through my brain. I was quiet for a while and then I grabbed my head in my hands as I felt a tremendous pain rush through me as the memories continued to speed up through my thoughts. The rush of memories was incredibly fast and intense. I felt Annabeth and Athena grab my arms, but I couldn't see them. I didn't know what was happening, then I started to see light again and then my vision was restored. At first the images were blurry and then I regained my focus. Sitting in front of me staring at me were Annabeth, Athena and Theseus, they all had worried looks on their faces.

"Percy! What happened?" Annabeth asked first.

"I had a sudden influx of images, memories I guess. They flooded into my brain, I couldn't see for a moment there then my vision finally cleared." I said.

"Are all of your memories back?" Theseus asked concerned.

"The images are there, but I haven't sorted them out yet." I said.

"Please tell us when you start to remember details, it's important." Theseus said.

"OK." I said. Not really understanding what happened.

"Do you need us to get you something?" Athena asked.

"I'm fine now, I think." I said still confused.

Nico and Thalia ran into the cabin, they must have been on deck.

"I can see the big house." Nico said as he and Thalia ran back out onto the deck. Theseus and Athena followed them. Annabeth helped me stand up as I was still a little dizzy from my memory flashback. We walked hand in hand out onto the deck. We looked toward the front of the ship and in the distance you could see the beach and on top of the hill the big house was clearly visible. The sky was incredibly clear and the sun was bright. The water was a brilliant emerald green color that shined in the sunlight. Theseus went back inside and took the controls and steered us toward the camp pier. I saw the sails retract and then descend into their holdings. I felt the ship shift to electric engines and we slowly made our way toward the pier. The Aethra's sister ship sat docked at the pier waiting for our arrival. After about thirty minutes our ship was lined up and we docked adjacent to the pier. Theseus announced our arrival and I could see Mr. D and Chiron walking our way along the pier.

"Welcome home!" Chiron said.

"We're glad to be back." Annabeth said happily. Theseus jumped over the side and shook Chiron's hand and then he greeted Mr. D warmly and hugged him, I guess he was trying to console him over the loss of his children. When they broke apart I could see the tears in Mr. D's eyes. They're faces brightened as they saw me walk to the side of the ship.

"Percy, it is so good to see you up and about my boy." Chiron said.

"Yes, it is Percy you're looking well." Mr. D said.

"Thank you both, I feel better." I said with a smile.

Everyone said they're greetings and then most of the Apollo cabin arrived to help the thirty rescued demigods to the infirmary. Then everyone else disembarked and went to their cabins. Annabeth walked with me to my cabin to help me get unpacked.

"Annabeth I'm not crippled I can open my own cabin door." I said as I was starting to get annoyed.

"I'm just trying to help, seaweed brain." Annabeth huffed.

"I know, but I'm getting tired of people trying to help. I feel fine I can do things on my own." I said sincerely.

"I know, I just want to help." Annabeth said, she looked sad all of sudden.

"Hey, don't be sad, I'm not mad at you I promise." I said trying to make her feel better.

"Alright, but I can still help you right?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure, let's go to my room and unpack." I said. We made our way to my room and when I opened my door I stopped abruptly and dropped my duffel bag, standing in my room was my dad, Theseus and Athena.

"What are you all doing in here?" I asked nervously.

"Annabeth close the door, we all need to talk with Percy." Poseidon said. Annabeth looked at me sadly and then closed the door.

"What's going on here?" I said worriedly.

"Percy, you don't remember what happened when you fought Coeus do you?" Theseus asked. Another rush of memories hit me again and I almost fell over except Annabeth was there to steady me.

"Are you alright son?" Poseidon asked.

"The memories of the battle hit me again, sorry." I said.

"It's alright we'll tell you what happened." Poseidon said. My father gestured to Theseus to continue speaking.

"Percy when you fought him you used your powers to heat the water that was in the titan's blood. You heated the water until it turned to steam, that's how you defeated the titan." Theseus said. I was shocked, I could do that?

"Yes, Percy this power is within you." Poseidon said in answer to my mental question.

"I don't remember doing that exactly, but it makes sense I can see those images in my head." I said.

"Percy the council is worried about this ability. It is incredibly dangerous, not only to gods and titans, but you can imagine what this power could do to a human or a demigod." Athena said.

"I understand they don't want to destroy me do they?" I said with a very worried expression.

"No, we have offered them a solution to this issue. They know that you would never intentionally hurt someone with this power unless it was in a life and death struggle like you had with the titan." Poseidon said.

"What kind of solution?" I said curiously.

"Training! We told them that we could train you how to control this power and to keep it from controlling you when you become emotional such as when you are angry. Anger is the worst thing it can make this power work on its own even without you knowing it is working." Theseus said.

"Training doesn't sound bad." I said, then I saw the sadness in Annabeth's eyes.

"What is it you're not telling me?" I asked. I could see everyone look at each other and then Theseus spoke, "Let me explain carefully."

"OK" I said.

"This training will need to be away from humans and demigods, we can better control your actions if you are limited to contact with gods and immortals. Do you understand." Theseus said.

"You're saying that I need to go to Olympus or someplace like that?" I asked.

"Actually we were thinking about Atlantis actually, but you could visit Olympus during your training as well." Poseidon said.

"How long would this training take?" I asked.

"That's the thing, to make sure this training works you would need to be away for a year." Theseus said.

"What! A year how in Hades can I be gone for a year? I have school, friends and …" I yelled trailing off at the end as I looked at Annabeth, I could see the tears in her eyes.

"Percy, please calm down you don't want to get angry I told you this power could hurt people, people you care about like Annabeth." Theseus said then I realized he was right, I could feel the power inside me trying to come out. I closed my eyes and fought back the anger and the push within me to let out my frustrations. I took several deep breaths and when I opened my eyes I could see the relief in Theseus's, Athena's, Poseidon's and Annabeth's eyes.

"You did well just then brother. I think you will succeed in your training." Theseus said.

"I suppose I need to leave as soon as possible?" I asked dejectedly.

"I'm afraid so son, Triton and I will come to pick you up tomorrow morning." Poseidon said.

I felt the pain inside me, I would miss out on my new school, I would miss my last summer at camp, I would miss all of my friends, I would miss my mom, I would miss Annabeth. Oh, gods I don't know if I can survive this. I looked around and I could tell that Theseus, Athena and Poseidon knew what I was thinking.

"I'm sorry brother!' Theseus said. I looked at him, I blamed him for this mess.

"I wish I never started this training, I wish I never found you!" I yelled as I ran out of my room and out of the cabin. I ran down to the lake and jumped in. I settled at the bottom of the lake and tried to collect myself, it was so hard not to be mad.

**Annabeth's POV**

"I'm sorry brother!' Theseus said. I saw a flash in Percy's eyes, a flash of terrible anger and then Percy said, "I wish I never started this training, I wish I never found you!" Percy yelled and then ran out of the cabin. He was so mad, I knew he didn't mean what he said, but he ran out and I knew where he would go, the lake. I knew that he would have to go there to calm down if not we could all be in trouble.

"Theseus, he didn't mean it." I said sincerely.

"Annabeth's right son, he's just upset, he'll get over this I promise." Poseidon said as he put his hand on Theseus's shoulder. Theseus just looked stunned, I knew that he blamed himself, but for Percy to blame him as well I knew it hurt him badly.

"Theseus my love let's go we need to talk." Athena said and then the two of them disappeared in a bright light.

Poseidon looked at me and smiled, I knew he was upset. "My dear, go to Percy, but wait until he has a chance to calm down. I wouldn't want him to hurt you because he is angry."

"I will and I understand, thank you." I said and then Poseidon disappeared in a beautiful blue-green light. I was left alone in Percy's room. I grabbed my duffel bag and headed for my cabin. I needed to think of what I should say when I saw Percy again. This was his last day at camp and I didn't want him wasting it feeling angry and sad. Then I remembered something I told Percy almost three years ago, that I would never make things easy for him. I never thought that he would be the one making things hard for me, actually he was making things hard for the both of us. I finished unpacking and then ran out of my cabin.

I said hello to several of my friends at camp as I made my way to Percy's cabin, I hoped he had returned from the lake by now, it had been about two hours since he stormed out and ran to the lake. I entered the cabin and walked to Percy's room. Percy was nowhere to be found, he had to be at the lake still. I ran out of the Poseidon cabin and headed for the lake. When I reached the lake I saw Percy's shirt lying on the beach, but there was no sign of him. I walked on the dock and made my way to the end of it. I sat on the end of the dock with my feet hanging over the edge looking down into the water. There he was, Percy was sitting on the bottom of the lake about twenty feet underwater. I found a rock on the end of the dock and I aimed perfectly taking into account the water depth and angle, then I dropped the rock. It sank to the bottom and landed on Percy's shoulder. He awoke with a start and then I saw his eyes staring at me like laser beams. His gaze was incredible and then I saw his features soften and his body relax when he realized it was me. The next thing I knew he erupted out of the water and landed next to me on the dock. He was dry and the water didn't even splash me, which was remarkable considering how fast he had swam to the surface.

"Hi, wise girl sorry for my outburst earlier. I guess you knew about all of this for awhile." Percy said.

"I'm sorry, but I was told to wait until we reached camp and that Theseus and the others would talk to you." I said, Percy winced when he heard me say his brother's name.

"I don't want to talk about him." Percy said.

"Percy, you can't blame him, he feels terrible about this already." I said defensively.

"I don't care he's not the one who has to leave everything behind him that matters for a year." Percy said. I could tell that Percy really did care, but he was too hurt to say it.

"A year will fly by faster than you know it and you know I will never stop loving you. I will wait for you." I said reassuringly.

Percy smiled at me and I knew that he believed me.

"I know you will it's not that. I just wanted to make all of you proud of me at school, now I've just made everyone worry about me. I've made everyone's life harder, not easier." Percy said sadly.

"No you haven't, this wasn't your fault. It's just something that happened and you'll get through without any problems." I said hopefully.

"You really think so?" Percy asked.

"Yes, I do now stop feeling sorry for yourself and let's make the most of your last day at camp. You go that mister!" I ordered. Percy just looked at me and smiled.

"Yes, sir!" Percy said, as he smiled at me. Then he grabbed me and hugged me tightly then he leaned down and kissed me softly. After a few minutes we broke apart for some air and Percy said, "I feel better already." I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs just to see his eyes grow wide then I stood up quickly and ran to the mess hall just as the lunch bell rang.

"Race you, seaweed brain!" I yelled as I ran full out toward the mess hall. I beat Percy to the mess hall by about two strides.

"Hey, that's not fair you hit me and then you had a head start." Percy said with a sad puppy dog face. I smiled and just laughed at him, maybe his last day will be fun after all, I thought.

We walked into the mess hall and everyone was happy to see us. Malcolm ran over and gave me a hug and then shook Percy's hand. Nico and Thalia ran over to us and greeted us as well. Percy and I separated, he went to the Poseidon table and I followed Malcolm over to the Athena table. Then it happened, Theseus appeared in a golden light with Athena. The campers cheered when they saw them, everyone except Percy that is. I hoped that he wouldn't do anything rash, I knew he was mad at Theseus. I guess Theseus felt Percy's anger through their mental link because I saw him look at Percy with a very sad expression. My mom walked over and sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. Theseus talked about the camp rules and a few other camp events to occur in the next few days including capture the flag. I saw Percy's face and I could see the anger grow in his eyes, they went from the beautiful green-blue color to that dark forest green color that made me shiver with dread.

"Mom, I think Percy's going to do something bad." I said ominously. I saw my mom look at Percy and I saw her expression change to one of dread and a little fear. I never knew my mom to be afraid of anything, but she did tell me that losing her family scared her.

"He won't start anything with all the campers around, this is Percy he wouldn't want to hurt someone by accident." Athena said hopefully.

"Mom, Percy has been acting strangely, this anger toward Theseus, I've never see him this mad before." I said fearfully.

Once Theseus finished I saw Percy stand up and walk out of the mess hall. That was against camp rules, Chiron galloped over to Percy. I really wished Chiron hadn't done that. Chiron yelled after Percy and then I saw Percy turn around, his eyes were so green they were almost black. Chiron froze in place and then Percy yelled, "Leave me alone!" the sound was so loud and powerful that it blew out every window in the mess hall. Chiron stood there frozen in place. Percy walked towards the lake. Then I saw Theseus disappear in a golden light.

"Mom, he went after Percy!" I said. Athena looked at me and I saw desperation in her eyes, she grabbed ahold of my arm and we both disappeared into a golden light and suddenly appeared on the beach near the lake. Then I saw Theseus and Percy staring at each other. They were about ten feet apart and I could see the power emanating off of them. It was a mix of the green-blue energy that Poseidon usually exuded mixed with Theseus's golden power.

"Percy please calm down, your anger only allows your power to work out of control." Theseus said.

"You promised after Alcatraz that you would stop trying to control me. You lied!" Percy said. I knew Theseus had helped Percy during that fight with Prometheus, but I never knew that Percy had made Theseus swear never to control him.

"I'm not trying to control you, I just want to make sure that you don't hurt anyone by accident, especially someone you care about." Theseus said.

"You're not here to help me you just want to run my life. You want me to be like you, I'm tired of people comparing us. I want my own life, I hate always being compared to you. Do you know how hard it is to be your twin brother. Even though we don't have the same mom, but my mom looks like yours so they're probably related. I want to be Percy not Theseus. Is that so much to ask for?" Percy said, I could tell his anger was mixing with sadness now, but his power was increasing. I could see the power in his eyes they were glowing with dark green energy.

"Its not too much to ask for. I never wanted you to be me. I always encouraged you to be what you wanted to be." Theseus said, I could tell that Percy had taken him aback with this conversation. There was more here than just anger about a promise or that he would have to leave for a year.

"Then why do you always talk to me about training and never about usual things that brothers talk about. The only time we talk is when you ask me how I'm doing with this technique or how my focus techniques are working." Percy said.

"I'm your teacher here at camp, that's my job to train you." Theseus said.

"So, your job is more important than being with your brother. You're not always training people. You can make time to be my brother, but no you have to be the good god of heroes and camp leader. I think its time someone knocked you down a few pegs brother!" Percy said as he sent a wall of water crashing into Theseus. The wall moved so fast that Theseus never had a chance to avoid it, except he was a god so he just disappeared. He reappeared behind Percy, I didn't know if Percy saw him or not. Then Percy moved with incredible speed like a tidal wave. He spun around and punched Theseus with an upper cut in the jaw. Theseus was lifted about ten feet off the ground. He landed about twenty feet from where Percy hit him with a loud thud. Percy walked slowly towards Theseus, I could see the anger and power emanating off of Percy. He looked so different like the anger had changed him completely.

"Oh no, it can't be!" Athena said standing next to me.

"What mom?" I asked.

"Percy and Theseus are drawing power not only from the water, from their surroundings and from themselves, but they are pulling power from each other as well." Athena said.

"Theseus, you have to stop this, your both pulling power from each other through your link." Athena yelled toward Theseus. I saw the realization on Theseus's face as he heard my mom's words.

"Percy, so do you feel better now?" Theseus asked with ichor running down from his lip.

Percy just stared at him angrily. "Not yet!" Percy said as he charged toward Theseus. Theseus blocked his blow but just barely. Theseus was trying not to fight Percy, but he couldn't hold out much longer.

"Percy you're using too much power you'll burn yourself out again, please calm down and think." Theseus said.

"I'm tired of people thinking I'm an idiot. I can think, but right now all I can think about is kicking your ass!" Percy yelled as he ran forward, Theseus was about to block Percy's punch when Percy did a spin kick that surprised Theseus and hit him directly in the stomach. Theseus doubled over, clearly the wind was knocked out of him. My mom couldn't take this anymore and materialized in front of Percy.

"Perseus Jackson, stop this immediately!" My mom yelled like I never heard her before. Percy stopped and for a moment I saw his eyes flash back to normal. I could tell that he was taken aback by my moms anger.

"Athena get the Hades out of my way!" Percy said demandingly. Damn his anger is digging a bigger and bigger hole for him.

"Percy please listen to yourself, this isn't you. The power is taking you over, it's using your deep seated fears and anxieties against you, to fuel your rage." Athena said logically.

"I don't know, I just don't want to leave for a year. Is that so terrible?" Percy said, I could tell that my mom got through to him. I could see his anger subside. Theseus stood up, he looked bad, but I could tell that he was alright.

"Percy please listen to her. You need this training, see how this power can control your emotions. You don't want to hurt someone you care about in a fit of rage. Believe me it will haunt you forever." Theseus said, he sounded like he knew from experience, did Theseus hurt someone with this power, I thought?

"How do you know, you always do the right thing, you wouldn't hurt someone you care about." Percy said, I could see his anger start to grow again.

"Your wrong brother and I can show you. Theseus's eyes glowed with power and everyone around him saw what he was about to show Percy. I saw it and my mom as well.

There were two demigods, one was Theseus he didn't look much different than he did right now. The other demigod looked familiar then I realized that he looked like Ares, actually he looked a lot like Ares. Then I heard their voices.

"Pirithous, how did I let you talk me into this?" Theseus asked.

"You owed me a favor, that's how?" Pirithous said.

"Well, now we're trapped in Hades and it's only a matter of time before my uncle catches us." Theseus said.

"Don't get mad at me, I can't help it if you couldn't keep up with our location." Pirithous said.

"How dare you say that!" Theseus yelled.

"Well, it's the truth fish face." Pirithous said.

Then they started to wrestle and fight until something happened. Theseus was intensely angry and it was like Hades itself was fueling his anger. Pirithous stopped fighting and started moving about as if he was on fire his skin began to break open and he bled profusely until the bleeding stopped and he fell to the ground. He laid on the ground as still as death. The anger subsided on Theseus's face and then he realized what he had done. He grabbed his bloody friend in his arms and cried. I never saw Theseus cry like that. Then the image faded and we were all brought back to reality. When I looked at Theseus, tears were in his eyes. Then I looked at Percy and his eyes were now they're normal green and he was crying. They both fell to the ground and hugged each other crying.

"I'm so sorry brother, I didn't know. I'm sorry!" Percy said between sobs.

Theseus just held onto Percy and they cried for at least twenty minutes before they stopped. Athena walked over to me and held me. We both had tears in our eyes.

"Mom you didn't know about that?" I asked whispering.

"No, I always thought that Herakles freed Theseus, but left Pirithous in the underworld. You see Pirithous tried to free Persephone from Hades, we always assumed that he was just trapped in the underworld and Theseus was just fortunate enough to escape with the help of Herakles." Athena whispered.

Percy and Theseus finally broke apart and Theseus helped Percy stand, even though Percy never was hit, he looked incredibly tired. The fight took more out of him than it did Theseus. We all helped Percy to his cabin. I guess this would be the end of Percy's last day. I wished it had ended better, but at least Percy knew why he was going away. Emotions fueled his power and these emotions could kill, they could even kill your best friend.

_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope everyone remembered Pirithous from the story Memories, we saw him sparring with Theseus when they were being trained by Chiron. Chapter 15 will be the last chapter of this story. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait.**_


	15. Goodbyes

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 15: Good-byes

**Percy's POV**

I woke up about two hours later and heard the dinner bell ring. I took a quick shower and got dressed. I made my way to the mess hall, people whispered when I walked by them. I guess they saw what happened at lunch and maybe even the fight at the lake. I felt so terrible about all of the horrible things that I said to my brother. He only wanted to protect me from my anger, I knew he was right. I needed to go away from my friends and family. I saw that image of Theseus holding the dead and bloodied Pirithous, his best friend. I felt the terrible guilt and sadness as if I lived through that event myself. I entered the mess hall and I avoided eye contact with anyone, I was too ashamed about my actions. I just wanted this day to end so I could just go into my year of exile. I needed to control this terrible power within me and I was determined to overcome it. I sat down at my father's table after getting some food and making an offering to all the gods. I made sure to pray to my brother and Athena, I wished for their forgiveness for my actions earlier today.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't see or hear Chiron walk over and stand next me.

"How are you doing son?" Chiron asked.

"I'm so sorry for breaking camp rules and yelling at you sir!" I said.

"Percy, it's alright, you have been through so much, there is nothing to forgive, but you didn't answer my question." Chiron said.

"Sorry! I feel terrible about the way I acted toward you and Theseus, especially Theseus. I really disappointed him. Everyone at camp is afraid of me now, aren't they?" I asked.

"Those that don't know you that well are, but your friends they are more concerned than afraid. I can call them over if you would like?" Chiron said.

"No, that will be alright. I just want to be alone for awhile. I think I will go to the beach and think, tell them I'm sorry would you?" I asked. I could see that Chiron was worried, but he didn't push the subject.

"I will tell them, take care son." Chiron said. I nodded and then walked out of the mess hall and towards the lake.

I reached the lake then I walked to the end of the dock and sat down with my legs and feet dangling in the water. The lake water felt so good, but I didn't feel like a swim, not yet at least. It was now getting dark, but then I remembered that there was suppose to be a bonfire at the beach by the ocean. I walked back through camp and most people were gone. They were clearly at the beach getting ready for the evening activities. As I approached the beach I saw the three massive bonfires. The flames reached at least thirty feet into the air. The light from the fires lit up the faces of the campers that sat around them. The night was clear and beautiful you could see a sky full of stars. I walked passed the bonfire that was closest to the pier. I saw Annabeth, Will Solace, Thalia, Nico, Clarisse and the Stoll brothers. Will was playing his guitar. A part of me wanted to get my guitar and join them, but I was still too depressed. They saw me as I passed them and they all looked surprised to see me, but I just walked faster and climbed up onro the pier. The first sailing ship was the Sally, named after my mom. I boarded the ship and sat at the controls. I was close enough to the bonfire to hear Will playing his guitar and then I heard a girl sing. She had a beautiful voice and then I recognized the song, it was "Come Back to Me" by David Cook. The girl sang the lyrics beautifully and with a tremendous amount of feeling. I walked back down the pier and froze when I saw who was singing by the bonfire.

_You say you gotta go and find yourself_

_You say that you're becoming someone else_

_Don't recognize the face in the mirror looking back at you_

_You say you're leaving as you look away_

_I know there's really nothing left to say_

_Just know I'm here whenever you need me I'll wait for you_

_So I'll let you go, I'll set you free_

_And when you've seen what you need to see_

_When you find you, come back to me_

_Take your time, I won't go anywhere_

_Picture you with the wind in your hair_

_I'll keep your things right where you left them_

_I'll be here for you_

_Oh and I'll let you go, I'll set you free_

_And when you've seen what you need to see_

_When you find you, come back to me_

_And I hope you find everything that you need_

_I'll be right here waiting to see_

_You find you, come back to me_

_I can't get close if you're not there_

_I can't get inside if there's no soul there_

_I can't face you, I can't save you_

_It's something you'll have to do_

_So I'll let you go, I'll set you free_

_And when you've seen what you need to see_

_When you find you, come back to me_

_Come back to me_

_So I'll let you go, I'll set you free_

_And when you've seen what you need to see_

_When you find you, come back to me_

_And I hope you find everything that you need_

_I'll be right here waiting to see_

_You find you, come back to me_

_You find you, come back to me_

_When you find you, come back to me_

_When you find you, come back to me_

It was Annabeth, I didn't know she could sing. I walked down the steps from the pier, I just watched her sing. I didn't notice Nico or Thalia and the others watching me smiling. I couldn't take my eyes off of Annabeth. Her voice was hypnotic to me and I felt at peace for the first time in weeks. When Annabeth finished singing she saw me staring at her in a trance. I saw her smile and I came back to reality. She walked over to me and took my hand. She led me back up the stairs of the pier and onboard the ship named after my mom. We sat next to each at the aft of the ship on one of the benches. Annabeth was beautiful as usual with her curly blond hair and her gray eyes. Her face was perfectly tanned and she was incredibly graceful.

"Seaweed brain, are you alright?" She asked concerned.

It took me a while to compose my thoughts, but then I said, "I didn't know you could sing like that." Annabeth just smiled at me and said, "Well you're not the only one with surprises."

I smiled at that comment.

"Did you like it?" Annabeth asked.

"I always thought that you just looked like an angel, now you actually sound like one too." I said.

Annabeth smiled brightly at me and placed her head on my shoulder. I held her close to me, I felt complete. We broke apart after thirty minutes of just sitting and holding each other.

"I'm sorry about earlier today, I'm sorry if I scared you." I said anxiously.

"You did scare me, but I was more scared for you than myself." Annabeth said.

"I scared myself too! Seeing Theseus that way and feeling the anger and the power, I've never been so scared in my life." I said.

"It's alright, you're going to get help and then you're going to come back to me." Annaebeth said.

"I will, I love you more than anything in this world wise girl." I said.

"It's getting late. I'll walk you to your cabin and help you pack for tomorrow." Annabeth said. We walked back to my cabin hand in hand. Annabeth helped me pack and then I kissed her good night as she went back to her cabin.

I fell asleep after a couple of hours, tomorrow would be a sad day, but I knew the sooner I started the training the quicker I would be able to come back to Annabeth and our life together.

I awoke the next morning and I felt refreshed. I hope that was a good omen and that my training would be a success. I cleaned up and got dressed then I grabbed my bag. I walked toward the big house. I saw Annabeth, Nico and Thalia waiting for me on the porch.

"Good morning Percy!" Nico said as he ran up to me. I shook his hand.

"Nico, it's good to see you. Hi, Thalia." I said. Thalia nodded and said, "You look a lot better today."

"I feel better." I said.

"Hey seaweed brain, miss me?" Annabeth asked as she ran to me and held my arm.

"More than you could imagine." I said with a smile. We all four walked over the hill and down to the beach. Waiting for us there were Theseus, Athena, Poseidon, Triton and Chiron.

"Good morning!" I said as we approached. Everyone smiled at me and then I knew that all was forgiven from yesterday.

"Are you ready to go son?" Poseidon asked.

"Let me say good-bye dad." I said.

"Certainly!" Poseidon said. I said good-bye to Nico, Thalia and Chiron. Then I walked over to Theseus and Athena.

"Theseus and Athena, please forgive me for yesterday. I will miss both of you very much." I said.

"You're forgiven and I will miss you too." Athena said as she gave me a hug.

"Brother, I'm not mad at you. I'm worried, but I have faith in you. I love you." Theseus said as he gave me a big hug.

I walked over to Annabeth and we separated ourselves from the others for a few moments. "I don't want to leave you, not for second, not for a minute and certainly not for a year." I said.

"I know, but this has to be done. Remember I will always be here for you, I love you Percy." Annabeth said as she reached up and kissed me.

"I love you too! I promise I will succeed with this training and I will come back to you as soon as I'm able." I said and then I leaned down and kissed her passionately and placed my camp necklace in her hands.

"I'll be back for that." I said as I walked toward my father and brother.

"Brother, I wish we could see each other under better circumstances." Triton said as he gave me a hug.

"I know brother, me too." I said. I turned around standing between Poseidon and Triton. We then turned toward the sea and walked into the ocean. Before I dove underwater I turned and waved to all my friends and family. I looked at Annabeth and smiled then I said, "I love you." I turned and dove under the sea. I started my time in exile determined to control the anger and power within me. I won't let it control me!

_**I hope you enjoyed this final chapter of Last Summer. I have received some requests to do a sequel related to Percy's exile in Atlantis, sounds like a good idea, please let me know if you agree. Thank you to everyone who read this story and to all of the reviewers.**_


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